The Girl Next Door
by FloatYourBoat21
Summary: Brittany is a beast on the soccer field. As she heads into her senior year at USC, some issues with several of her teammates leaves her looking for residency elsewhere. Her world suddenly changes when she meets Santana, a fiery Latina that becomes one her new roommates. Watch how their journey unfolds as they become fast friends... and possibly more. Multi-chapter, AU Brittana fic.
1. 99 Problems

"YOU HAVE GOT TO BE KIDDING ME!" Coach Sylvester yells through the megaphone. "IF YOU THINK THIS IS HARD, TRY GOING THROUGH MENOPAUSE!"

As the Lady Trojans stop for a minute from their wind sprints to acknowledge their coach, this seems to infuriate the older woman even more.

"YOU ALL ARE DESPICABLE!" Coach Sylvester continues to yell out with disgust. "GET OFF MY FIELD... NOW!"

Not needing to be told twice, the women's soccer team for USC quickly - or at least as quickly as they possibly can with their jello-like legs - make themselves scarce before they get caught up in the wrath that is _Sue Sylvester_.

Every one of the young ladies run for their lives... all but one.

Even though she's completely exhausted like the rest of her teammates, sweating like crazy in the hot August sun, Brittany doesn't have the same streak of fear run through her bones every time her coach speaks.

For Brittany S. Pierce, life so far hadn't been _too_ complicated. Sure, she had her ups and downs at times, but at the moment, she was just enjoying her life. At the ripe age of 21, Brittany was heading into her senior year at the University of Southern California. She was very carefree and just a ray of sunshine in general. She was also a very hard worker and very determined. These qualities led her to being recently named the new starting goalie and co-captain of the Lady Trojans.

However, not everyone on her team was happy about that.

"Hey B, what's up?"

As Brittany cocks her head to the side, she immediately smiles as she spots a couple of her friends from the men's soccer team approaching her. "Hey Sam! Hey Mike!" She says excitedly as she waves at the guys.

"Another tough practice?" Mike questions as he smiles back at her while looking at the vacant field.

"That's putting it mildly," Brittany chuckles out as she grabs her water bottle.

"I don't see how you do it," Sam begins to say. "Sue scares the crap out of me... and she's not even my coach!"

"That's because there's a little frightened girl trapped inside of that body of yours," Brittany laughs out while Mike joins in.

Sam just stands there, pouting with his large pink lips. "I thought you guys were supposed to be my friends?"

"Ah, don't be a sad little panda," Brittany says sickeningly sweet as she brings the blonde boy in for a side hug. "If we didn't like you, we would just completely ignore you."

Sam playfully pushes the other blonde off of him. Before he has a chance to respond back to all of the teasing he's endured, one of Brittany's fellow teammates comes jogging towards them.

"What are you still doing here Pierce?" The red-headed girl cattily questions as she bends over to pick up the bag she had left behind. "Tryin' to suck up to Sylvester some more?"

 _Why don't you go fuck yourself?_ That's what the blonde really wants to say back to her, but she's just too damn nice.

"No, _Jackie_..." Brittany says exasperatedly. "I was just catching up with my friends."

"Pssh, whatever..." Jackie says as she dismisses Brittany. " _Hey Mike_..." she says in a seductively low tone as she jogs away.

For his part, Mike just stands there, scrunching up his face in disgust. "She's a cute girl and everything, but it's very hard to be even remotely attracted to her when she's such a raging bitch all the time."

This makes Brittany smile.

"What's her deal anyways?" Sam inquires. "I thought you guys were cool."

"We were... up until the end of last season," Brittany starts to explain, "but once Coach moved me from striker to the starting goalie position, she got all butt hurt coz I 'stole' Allison's spot."

"That's not your fault that you're better than her," Mike genuinely states. "Honestly, you're probably the best player on their team and could play any position if you wanted to."

"And that's _exactly_ why everyone hates me now," Brittany adds in sadly as an afterthought. "They all give me evil glares and 'accidentally' bump into me during practice or in the hallways. They used to be subtle about it, but now everything is so blatant."

"Damn B... that sounds horrible," Sam replies.

"It is. I've been trying my best to remain positive and not let it affect me, but it's getting to the point where it's all beginning to be a little too much," Brittany explains. "Sometimes I feel like I'm back in freaking high school again, surrounded by a bunch of mean girls. The only time any of the girls talk to me is on the field, because they kinda have to, or if they're making some catty remark."

"Have you told Sue about any of this?" Mike asks.

"I hadn't planned on it coz I didn't want to seem like I was complaining or make her think that I was weak and couldn't handle myself," Brittany responds. "However, she actually came to me because she noticed the girls giving me the cold shoulder."

"And?"

"I gave her a brief synopsis of what's been going on, but I asked her not to say anything."

"Why not?"

" _Because_..." Brittany sighs out. "All of the girls already think that I'm sucking up to Sue and think that that's the reason why she gave me Allison's position. I didn't want to add on to that and give them even more fuel to tease me about."

"But B, you can't continue to live like this," Mike objects. "This isn't right."

"I know... and I hate it, but my options are kind of limited," Brittany solemnly replies. "If it was just the remarks and trash-talking, I could handle it. But now, it's gotten to the point where I don't even feel comfortable in the dorms anymore."

Both men seem very sympathetic, but also agitated at the same time. Brittany was a sweet, caring girl who didn't deserve the treatment she was currently receiving just because her teammates were a bunch of jealous bitches.

"Sue did say that I could move off campus if I found a place close enough so it wouldn't interfere with getting to practice on time and whatnot, but with the cost of living right now and the way my bank account is set up... I just don't see that happening," Brittany says, feeling deflated as she slumps her shoulders.

Before the mood gets any more depressing, Sam seems to have an epiphany.

"Wait! I think I can help," the blonde boy says excitedly. Brittany and Mike look back at each other, waiting for their friend to continue. "You remember my girlfriend Mercedes, right?"

"Yeah... I've talked to her a few times at the games and stuff," Brittany replies with a smile. "She's really nice."

"Yeah... she is pretty awesome," Sam says as he gets lost for a second, thinking about his boo. "Anyways, she has a spare bedroom at her house. Maybe I could talk to her and see if she would be interested in renting it out?"

"That's very sweet of you Sammy, but I don't want to impose," Brittany reluctantly declines. As excited as the possibility sounded, she didn't want to get her hopes up. "Besides, doesn't she have roommates already?"

"She does, but you've met Quinn before and I think you got along fairly well," Sam replies, still sounding very hopeful.

" _What about Santana_?" Mike says as a stage whisper.

" _Oh_..."

"Oh? What does 'oh' mean?" Brittany questions. "And who's Santana?"

"Santana is their other roommate. I don't think you've met her before," Sam answers. "She's an _interesting_ character."

"Why am I not feeling so confident about this anymore?"

"I guess you can say that Santana is an _acquired_ taste," Sam slowly states. "She's very feisty and you definitely don't want to be on her bad side. But, as a friend... she's very protective and loyal as hell."

This makes Brittany feel a little better.

"Just think of it this way..." Mike chimes in. "If you can handle Sue, you can handle Santana."

Brittany then takes a minute to ponder over her options.

"Don't get me wrong, Sam... I appreciate the _semi_ -offer, but I've seen where Mercedes lives," Brittany says. "There's no way I would be able to afford to rent a room at a house like that."

"Brittany, at least let me talk to the girls and see what they think? Maybe they could work something out?" Sam pleads as he rests a reassuring hand on her shoulder. "You're my friend and I care about you; I don't like seeing you like this."

"The worst they could say is no, but you'll never know if you don't at least ask the question," Mike reasons.

Again, Brittany ponders over her options.

"Okay... I guess it couldn't hurt," Brittany says, finally caving.

"Awesome sauce! I'm gonna go call Cedes now," Sam says as he lightly jogs away from them. "Hopefully I'll get back to you in a few minutes," he says with his big-lipped smile.

"Dude... how awesome would that be?!" Mike exclaims.

"Well, it would be pretty awesome for _me_..." Brittany begins to say as she takes in her Asian friend's giddiness, "but why would it be awesome for _you_?"

Almost immediately, the smile from Mike's face vanishes.

"Spit it out, Mikey!" Brittany prods him. "I know that look."

Mike silently chuckles to himself before responding. "Well, you remember Quinn right..."

"The cute blonde?"

"Yeah..."

"Aww... does somebody have a little crush?" Brittany teases.

"I guess you could put that spin on it," Mike nonchalantly replies, trying his best to seem indifferent.

"That's so sweet!" Brittany says as she reaches out to pinch his cheeks.

"You suck," Mike says as he playfully slaps her hands away. "Now I hope that you don't get the place."

Brittany feigns hurt as she makes a shocked expression. "Rude! You take that back, mister!"

"You'll have to catch me first!" The Asian says as he sprints away from the blonde.

As Brittany chases after him, she thinks about how grateful she is to have him and Sam in her life. When she first started at USC, she didn't know anyone and didn't really have the time to try to make friends either. But Sam and Mine quickly took her under their wing and made her feel not so alone. They bonded over soccer and comic books. Being so far away from home, it was nice to have two big brothers looking out for her.

Even if things didn't work out with the spare room at Mercedes' house, she knew that she would figure something out, with the help of her friends.

* * *

 _ **Meanwhile, approximately 6 miles West of the USC campus...  
**_  
As Mercedes and Quinn are in the kitchen enjoying a quick breakfast before heading off to work, the sound of an angry Latina can be heard coming down the stairs.

"Q! You better not be eating my Frosted Flakes!" Santana yells out as she appears in the kitchen.

While Mercedes tries her best to stifle her laughter, Quinn looks down at her now empty bowl of Frosted Flakes before cautiously looking up at her other roommate. There, Santana stands with her hands on her hips and her head slightly tilted. She also has a look on her face that says 'there's about to be one less roommate in this house'.

"It's not what it looks like?" Quinn says in a questionable tone.

Santana raises her eyebrow before looking over at her other roommate. "Wheezy... you let this happen on your watch?"

Now that the Latina's attention was focused on her, Mercedes quickly tries to think of a reasonable explanation that will keep her out of trouble.

"See, what had happen was..." she begins to say. Luckily for her, her phone starts going off. "Ooh, this is Sam. I gotta take this," she says as she quickly exits the kitchen and escapes to her bedroom.

This leaves Santana and Quinn alone.

"Have I told you how gorgeous you look today?" Quinn says happily as she bats her eyes at the Latina.

"Uh uh, Fabray... flattery will get you nowhere," Santana replies. "Besides, you had your chance in high school to get all up on this," she giggles out as she grabs her box of cereal from the counter and pours herself a bowl.

"Please, Lopez... you wouldn't be able to handle this hot piece of ass," Quinn smugly says back, taking a page out of the Latina's handbook.

"Touché."

A few minutes later, Mercedes re-enters the kitchen after talking to her boyfriend. "Is it safe to enter?" She asks as she waves a white shirt in the air.

Both girls laugh out loud.

"Yes, Cedes... it's safe," Santana responds.

As Mercedes re-enters the kitchen area, she leans against the counter top. "So... I just talked to Sam."

"How is good ol' Trouty Mouth?" Santana asks, causing the other girl to roll her eyes at the nickname.

"He's fine. We did have an interesting conversation though."

" _About_..." Quinn drawls out.

"Well before I get into all of that, how would guys feel about having another roommate?" Mercedes slowly asks.

"Depends. Why... is Trouty trying to shack up here?" Santana inquires as she raises her eyebrow.

"No, this is not about Sam trying to move in with us," Mercedes starts off as she rolls her eyes at the Latina. "He was just wondering coz one of his friends is kinda in a tough spot and could really use a break. You've met her before Q; remember Brittany, the tall blonde?"

Quinn takes a moment to rack her brain. "Oh yeah, at our Halloween party last year," she finally remembers. "Wait... where were you Satan?"

"If you recall, I was working. Someone had to since this one," Santana pauses as she points to Mercedes, "was gonna be sucking face with Trouty Mouth all night. Besides... I made hella tips that night," she finishes with her trademark smirk.

"Anyways... what's the deal with Brittany?" Quinn questions.

Before Mercedes has a chance to respond, Santana cuts her off.

"Hold up... I'm not sure I like the fact that Sam has a cute blonde female friend," the Latina supplies. "You betta check your man, Wheezy."

Mercedes then puts her hands on her hips and gives her roommate a pointed look. "First of all, Sam would never cheat on me. If he did, he knows I'd bust the windows out his car," she pauses as she holds up two fingers. "Two... Brittany is like Sam's little sister. Seriously, they look alike so that would just be weird if they got together." She pauses again as she shakes off that incestuous thought. "And three... what makes you think that Brittany is cute?"

"Coz Quinn doesn't remember ugly people," Santana replies without hesitation, like it's the most obvious thing in the world.

Mercedes' eyes slightly pop out of her head as she tries to recover from that off-the-cuff comment. She then looks over at the blonde to gauge her reaction.

Quinn shrugs her shoulders. "It's true."

Mercedes then looks back at the Latina who has her hands in the air with the 'I told you so' expression written all over her face. All she can do is shake her head at her roommates.

"Sometimes I wonder why I'm even friends with you two," Mercedes states as she shakes her head again. The other girls just laugh in return. "But seriously guys, what do you think? If you're not cool with it, just say the word. I don't want either of you to feel uncomfortable in your own home."

"Well, I've only met the girl a few times, but she seems like a sweetheart," Quinn begins to say. "I don't know what her situation is, but I'm cool with it. I'm more concerned about this one over here," she says as she looks over Santana.

"Honestly, me too," Mercedes admits. "So... whatcha think Satan?"

"Well, you know how I feel about people interrupting our living space," Santana starts off. Mercedes and Quinn nod along, knowing that this was a long shot. "But... I trust both of your opinions so if you think she'll be a good fit here, then I'm on board."

Mercedes and Quinn immediately look at each other with shocked expressions. "Seriously?"

"Yes... I'm being serious," Santana giggles out as she rolls her eyes at her roommates. "I need to meet this girl first though before anything is set in stone."

"I figured as much," Mercedes replies. "I'm kinda excited about possibly getting a new roommate."

"Hey! What's wrong with us?" Santana feigns being offended.

"Gosh, you're so overdramatic." Mercedes says as she brushes off the comment. "I'm gonna go call Sam back and tell him the good news."

As Mercedes heads back to her room, Quinn looks over at Santana. "You sure you're okay with this?"

"Yeah, I guess," Santana says as she shrugs her shoulders. "Plus... I'm tired of just looking at you two bitches so it'll be nice to have some new eye candy around the house," the Latina replies with a wink.

" _Charming_ ," Quinn replies in a monotone voice, clearly unimpressed.

"Aww... don't be like that Q," she says as she wraps her roommate/best friend up in a bear hug. "You're still my favorite blonde."

Quinn just rolls her eyes as she hugs the Latina back.

"Are you guys finally releasing some of that sexual frustration between the two of you?" Mercedes says with a wide smile as she comes back into the kitchen and leans against the wall.

" _Eww_... gross!" Santana says as she pushes the blonde off of her. "Quinn is like my sister!"

"I know... it's just fun to see your reaction though," Mercedes chuckles out. "Sam wants to know when would be a good time to have Brittany come over so we can talk to her and figure this thing out," she says as she motions to her phone, signaling that her boyfriend was on hold.

"I don't have any plans after I get off of work so sometime tonight would be fine," Quinn says. "What about you S? You get off at 9, right?"

"Yeah, but if we're kind of slow, Will might let me go early," Santana replies.

"Alright, so should I tell him around 9 then?" Mercedes asks for clarification.

"Yep, that'll work," Santana confirms.

Mercedes nods and then unmutes her phone to pass along the information to Sam.

"You want me to stop by to visit you after I get off?" Quinn asks the Latina.

"Please... you just want a free drink," Santana says with a pointed look. "You don't fool me, Fabray."

"You know that I could free drinks from Cedes too, right?" Quinn counters. "And now that I think about it, Will too."

Santana just shakes her head amusedly. "Actually, I was thinking since we're having company tonight and you and Wheezy get off around the same time, maybe you guys could make dinner?"

"That's actually not a bad idea," Quinn confers. "I'll get with Cedes and we'll figure something out."

Quinn then brings her bowl over to the sink and quickly washes it out before something suddenly hits her.

"Wait... did you just sucker me into cooking dinner for you?"

"Is that how that worked out?" Santana replies, feigning ignorance. "Well, you are a pretty awesome cook. I just thought it would be a nice way to welcome Brittany into her new possible home."

"Bullshit."

"What? Is it so hard to believe that I wanna do something nice for the girl?" The Latina questions. Once she sees the blonde's unchanging face, her resolve breaks. "Okay, fine... I just want a home-cooked meal without having to be the one to cook it. Are you happy now?"

"A little," Quinn smugly replies. "I know you too well."

"Yes, you do... but it doesn't make any of the other things I said less true."

"You're right, so I'm not gonna fight you on this one," Quinn says.

"Thanks Q! You're the best!" Santana says as she gives the blonde a quick peck on the cheek before bolting upstairs.

" _Yeah yeah_..."

Once Quinn puts her dishes on the drying rack, she sees Mercedes waking back into the kitchen with her purse in hand, donning her black 'Mr. Schue's' t-shirt and tight-fitting blue jeans. It was the same outfit that Santana would be rocking later when her shift started.

"Alright girly, I'm headin' out," Mercedes says to the blonde as she gives her a peck on the cheek. "Satan... I'll see you at noon!" She yells upstairs.

"Aight Wheezy! Thanks for dinner!" Santana yells back.

Mercedes scrunches up her eyebrows as she looks back at the blonde, donning a navy blue pencil skirt and a cute white blouse. "Something you wanna tell me?"

"Oh yeah... S volunteered us to make dinner tonight."

Mercedes just shakes her head. "Should've seen that one coming," she chuckles out. "I guess we have a date in the kitchen later."

"You know it," Quinn replies as she winks back at her. "See ya girl."

As Mercedes leaves the house, Quinn looks at her watch and sees that it's about time for her to head out as well. As she goes to her room to grab her purse, she takes one last look at herself to make sure she looks professional, but not like a total stiff. Her motto was that just because she worked at a law firm, that didn't mean she had to dress like a grandma. Once she gives herself the mental thumbs up, she moves towards the door and grabs her keys.

"S, I'm leaving. Make sure you lock up before you pass out again," Quinn yells out, knowing that the Latina would more than likely do just that since her shift at _Mr. Schue's_ didn't start for another few hours.

Santana then suddenly appears downstairs in front of the door. " _Yes, dear_ …" she playfully states. "Don't work too hard."

"I'll try not to. See ya hon," Quinn says as she follows the routine of planting a quick kiss to the Latina's cheek before exiting the house.

Santana immediately locks the door and then makes her way into the living room before plopping down on the comfy sectional. She sits there for a minute, wondering what she should do with her free time. Since it was still summer break, she didn't have any classes to study for. Looking at the time on her phone, she still had another 3 or so hours to kill until she had to start getting ready for work.

The longer she sat there, the more her mind began to wonder about this Brittany girl. Santana had never met her in person and had never seen a picture of her either, but she was familiar with the name. From what she knew, Brittany went to USC with Sam, Mercedes, and Quinn while she went to UCLA. She knew that Brittany was athletic because she played soccer and that's how she met Sam. There had been a few outings where her roommates had gotten the chance to meet Brittany, but sadly, Santana was usually at work or busy with something else.

Out of curiosity, Santana pulls her phone back out and opens the Facebook application. She clicks on Sam's profile and quickly scrolls through his friends, narrowing down her search to a list of 7 girls named Brittany. As she looks at the miniature thumbnails of each girl's profile pic, she comes across one that has the signature Cardinal and Gold colors of the Trojans. Clicking on the profile, she is able to see a bigger and much clearer photo of the mysterious Brittany Pierce.

In the photo, Brittany is on the field with her back facing the camera and her face turned to the side. In bright gold letters, her last name can be seen running across her shoulders as the number 15 is prominently displayed below it. Although her uniform is drenched in sweat, Santana's eyes are more focused on the one visible bright blue orb that is literally jumping off of the screen. Even with just the side profile and the dirt and sweat that covered Brittany's face and uniform, Santana thought that she was absolutely gorgeous.

 _They never look the same in real life_ , Santana says to herself as she slightly giggles.

She then looks at the picture one last time before closing down the app. Sure, if she wanted to, she could've scrolled through more of Brittany's photos and looked at her 'About Me' section, but she didn't want to seem like a total stalker. Instead, she decided to head back upstairs to her bedroom and sleep for a little while longer. Sleep didn't come easy though as she felt a burst of nerves and excitement course through her body about finally meeting this Brittany character that she had heard about several times over the years.

And so, instead of sleeping, Santana spent the next couple of hours cleaning up the guest bedroom and cleaning the joint bathroom in preparation for their new possible roommate.

* * *

A little after 8 pm, Santana bursts through the front door of her house. "Hey guys! Will let me go early," she says loudly as she hangs her keys on the rack and drops her purse by the foot of the stairs. "By the way, it smells great in here."

As she makes her way into the kitchen, she grabs a spoon to taste the sauce that was simmering on the stove. "Man… that tastes great!"

She then turns around and heads toward the living room as she continues to ramble.

"I'm gonna go grab a quick shower coz I smell like cheap liquor and fried food," Santana says as she sniffs her shirt to confirm the smell. "What time is this Brittany chick supposed to be here?"

Those last words leave her mouth as she turns the corner and sees that the living room is filled with not just her two roommates.

"I'm already here," an angelic voice says as the other blonde in the room cutely waves at her before standing up and approaching her. She then sticks out her hand and smiles. "You must be Santana. I'm Brittany; nice to meet you."

Santana stands there for second, momentarily in shock. Here before her stands a crazy beautiful blonde with striking blue eyes and an award-winning smile. Although she was just wearing a pair of black Nike therma-fit pants and a gray Nike t-shirt with her school's logo on it, she looked like a damn super model to the Latina.

"Uh, S... this is usually the part where you shake her hand and maybe throw in a 'nice to meet you too' or something," Mercedes giggles out, loving this state of shock her usually very composed roommate/best friend is in.

"And you might wanna close your mouth," Quinn adds in with a smirk. "Seriously... you're drooling all over the carpet."

This seems to snap the Latina out of her daze. " _Fuck off, Fabray_!" Santana quickly mumbles out under her breath as she cuts her eyes at her best friend, causing Quinn to try her hardest to suppress her laughter.

They were trying to make a good impression, after all.

Santana then takes a deep breath and looks back at the blonde patiently waiting in front of her. Slowly, she extends her hand and connects it with Brittany's. "Hi, Brittany... I'm Santana. It's nice to finally meet you."

As the two young women introduce themselves, they shake hands much longer than the average greeting is supposed to last. Santana can't help it though, feeling Brittany's soft hand clutched with hers as a tingly feeling shoots up and down her body. But it's not entirely her fault because Brittany hasn't tried to let go of her hand either.

As Santana continues to stare into Brittany's dazzling blue eyes, one thought runs through her mind:

 _Definitely better in real life_ , she thinks to herself.

* * *

 **Author's Note:**

Well helllllooooo everyone! Here it is... the brand new story I was telling you about. I've had this idea about Brittany and Santana being roommates for a few years now and have finally decided to make it come to life. As the story goes on, you'll learn more about the girls and their pasts (and a little about their other roommates as well). I hope you all enjoyed the first chapter. Thanks again for continuing to read, review, favorite, and/or follow any of my stories or me as an author... it really means the world to me.

On another note, just because I'm starting a brand new story, doesn't mean that I've abandoned my other ones. Right now, I'm in the process of working on the next chapter for _**Quantico**_ and hopeful after that, I'll be able to update _**3rd & Lucky**_. I love to hear your feedback so hit me up :)

\- Kris

 **Disclaimer:** I do not own Glee or any of its characters. I also don't own any of the colleges mentioned. I know that USC doesn't have a men's soccer team, but I created one for the sake of this story.


	2. Let's Make a Deal

After their _extended_ greeting finally ended, Brittany took her seat back on the recliner she was sitting on before while Santana awkwardly took her usual spot in the corner of the sectional, after playfully pushing Quinn out of the way.

Before the Latina got a chance to question why Brittany was already at the house, she was momentarily distracted by some noises upstairs.

"Sam and Mike are playing pool upstairs," Mercedes explains, knowing that her roommate was about to question who else was currently at their house.

"Not surprising," Santana replies with a small smirk, assuming that the guys would grace them with their presence since free food was involved. She also figured that Brittany would feel more comfortable if her friends were close by while she discussed her living situation with her and her roommates. "Hey guys!" She yelled loudly, greeting the other two occupants of the house.

"Hey Santana!" Both guys yelled back in response.

"So... what did I miss?" Santana asks as she looks back at Brittany.

Brittany then explained that she was so excited about this meeting that she begged Sam and Mike to come over to the house a little earlier so that she could maybe help out with dinner and chat with the girls a little bit before Santana got home.

Truth be told, the blonde was also a bit anxious to finally meet Santana, especially after the way her friends described her. She felt that if she got a chance to hang out with Mercedes and Quinn beforehand, then maybe she would have a better understanding of the Latina and not feel so intimidated when they finally did meet. She felt like she had already bonded pretty well with the girls and the only thing that would stand in her way from getting the room (besides the cost of rent) was whether or not she clicked with Santana.

Up until the point when Santana came home and Brittany heard her sultry voice echoing off the walls, she thought that her plan had been pretty successful. However, as soon as she turned around and saw the stunning Latina in front of her, that anxious feeling returned full force. Luckily for Brittany though, she was pretty good at masking her emotions, especially with some of the shitty things she's had to deal with in her life.

"I don't mean to interrupt, but I really need to get these clothes off," Santana says as she sniffs her shirt again. Unbeknownst to her, Brittany was turning beet red inside. "Do you guys mind if I take a quick shower before we get into this conversation?"

After a few seconds of silence, Mercedes lightly touches the other blonde's shoulder to get her attention since the question was more directed towards her. "Is that okay, Brittany?"

"Huh?" Brittany says quickly, snapping back to reality. Once she looks back up and sees all three of the girls looking at her expectantly, she finally realizes that they were waiting on her to respond. "Of course! It's your house; you don't have to ask for my permission."

"I just didn't wanna be rude," Santana softly says, causing her roommates to look at each other with a 'since when?' expression. She doesn't notice though because she's too busy staring at Brittany.

"S... why don't you go ahead and shower coz you startin' to smell like feet girl," Mercedes suggests, causing everyone in the room to laugh. The Latina shows her appreciation by smacking her friend in the face with a pillow. "The food will be ready by the time you're done, then we can all sit down, eat, and discuss the reason why we're all here."

"Sounds like a plan, Wheezy... be back in 15," Santana says as she grabs her purse and heads upstairs.

"So... that's Santana," Quinn says, breaking the silence in the room. "Whatcha think?"

Brittany takes a minute to think back on her interactions with the Latina so far. Although they had been limited, she had a good feeling about Santana. "I like her."

Mercedes and Quinn both look at each other with a knowing smirk after that response. They didn't know what to make of it, but they both felt that Brittany would be a great fit at the House of FaJoPez.

* * *

After Santana was clean and refreshed, she grabbed the guys and rejoined the girls downstairs. Once everyone had a plate of delicious food in front of them, they made small talk, exchanging different details about themselves.

The girls learned that Brittany was from Tucson, Arizona. She had a younger brother named Spencer and her parents owned a small diner back in their hometown. She had started attending USC during her sophomore year after receiving a full scholarship for soccer. She was also majoring in Physical Therapy. In her free time, Brittany worked part-time at Hudson's Comics – which Sam and Mike loved and frequented often – and also worked as a Math tutor to make some extra money on the side.

Brittany learned that Santana, Mercedes, and Quinn were all from Los Angeles and had known each other since Pre-K. Out of all of the roommates, Santana was the only one that attended a different college; that being UCLA. There, she was studying English, with a concentration in Creative Writing. She also minored in Psychology. At USC, Mercedes was studying Music with aspirations of being a producer someday, especially if the whole 'becoming a famous recording artist' thingy didn't work out. Quinn, on the other hand, was studying Law, which was fitting since she worked as a secretary/professional bagel-fetcher at Washington, Figgins & Beiste... one of the most prestigious law firms in LA. Santana and Mercedes worked at a karaoke bar and grill called _Mr. Schue's_ , which was owned and ran by their favorite former high school teacher, Will Schuester, and his wife Emma.

After the getting to know you portion of the evening, Brittany gave the girls a brief summary on some of the issues she'd been having with her teammates and why she desperately needed to find residency elsewhere. And then finally, the girls broached the topic of rent, knowing how concerned the other blonde had been about the subject.

"So, Brittany... Sam tells us that you were really concerned about whether or not you could even afford to live here. Is that correct?" Quinn questions, putting on her best lawyer voice.

"Yeah... that was one of my biggest concerns," Brittany replies. "You guys have a really nice place here that overlooks the beach. I can only imagine what the rent must be like."

"If you don't mind me asking, about how much is your monthly income?" Quinn inquires.

"Well... I make about $400 every paycheck from the comic book store and then I charge 50 bucks a pop for every one hour tutoring session I do," Brittany answers.

"It sounds like you make more than enough money to find a decent place off-campus to live," Quinn adds in, wondering why the girl was so sure that she wouldn't be able to afford living with them. "Do you not spend your money wisely? Or do you have expensive hobbies? Do you gamble excessively or something?"

For her part, Brittany was starting to feel a little uneasy with all of the questions the blonde was asking her. Sure, she figured that they would ask about her financial stability to make sure they could depend on her to pay her part of the rent on time; however, she just didn't think it would be in this rapid fire type of forum, especially since Quinn had been so nice to her earlier.

 _This must be what they mean when people talk about getting the third degree_ , Brittany thinks to herself.

Noticing this, the Latina comes to her rescue. "Q... stop interrogating the girl like she just committed murder!" She scolds her roommate. "This isn't **Law & Order**."

Hearing the reference makes Brittany crack a smile and loosen up a bit. Seeing the look of relief on her face, Santana shoots the blonde a small wink before giving a pointed look to the other blonde.

"My bad Brittany," Quinn apologizes. "Sometimes the future lawyer trapped inside of me slips out."

"Not that I agree with the way it was delivered..." Mercedes starts to say as she too gives her roommate a pointed look before continuing her thought, "but Quinn did ask some very valid questions."

"No, it's fine. I should've been more prepared for those types of questions," Brittany responded, looking over at Quinn while displaying a soft smile. "I don't have any outstanding gambling debts; hell, I don't even gamble. I also don't have any expensive or extravagant hobbies," she said before pausing. "Although I do make enough money to afford a somewhat decent place on my own, I would much rather be able to save some of that money so I can use it to pay for my phone bill, gas, food, and _other_ things..."

That particular end comment piqued Santana's interest. It was clear that Brittany wasn't going to elaborate what those 'other things' were, but she hoped that maybe one day in the future, the blonde would feel more comfortable around her and the girls to share that information. For the time being, the Latina decided not to pry into this stranger's life... at least not yet.

"So just out of curiosity, how much would you be able to afford?" Santana softly asks.

"Honestly, $500 would probably be the most," Brittany says cautiously. Again, the amount kind of surprises the three girls as they try to study the blonde's face. Feeling like she's being scrutinized, Brittany quickly stands up from the recliner. "You know what, I'm sorry that I've wasted your time. I know that 500 bucks is probably not even close to what you guys pay so I'll just see myself out. Thanks again for meeting with me."

And with that, Brittany hurriedly makes her way to the front door and outside before any of the girls can decipher the complete 180 that had just taken place.

Brittany felt stupid and embarrassed for wasting their time and just wanted to get out of there as soon as possible. The thing that sucked most about it was that she could really see herself living here with the other three girls. She already got along great with Mercedes and Quinn (minus the whole lawyer routine that just happened) and she felt a really strong connection with Santana, although they had just met like an hour ago. Brittany could immediately tell what Sam meant when he said that the Latina was feisty, but loyal as hell. She could tell by her mannerisms and by the way she told some of the stories she had shared over the past hour.

Aside from not wanting to go back to the dreadful dorms where her bitchy, back-stabbing teammates would be waiting for her, Brittany so badly wanted to be a part of the inner circle that Mercedes, Quinn, and Santana had formed with each other over the years.

Even though they teased the crap out of each other and gave one another a hard time just for sport, Brittany could see how much the girls loved and cared for each other. She could see the strength in their bonds and how protective they were of each other. Brittany never had that type of friendship or connection with anyone before, at least not with someone who wasn't in her immediate family. After witnessing the effortless friendship between these three girls, Brittany desperately wanted to be a part of it.

Before Brittany could wallow in her self-pity any longer, she's instantly dragged out of her thoughts when she feels a soft hand grasping her forearm.

"Hey Britt... where ya going?" Santana gently says, hoping not to scare the other girl. "What happened in there?"

For a moment, the blonde was slightly caught off-guard by the soft touch of the other girl's hand and the nickname. No one outside of her family had ever called her 'Britt' and she liked it that way. However, hearing the way it so casually rolled off of the Latina's tongue made her think that she could make an exception.

"I'm sorry that I left so abruptly," Brittany sincerely says. "I know I was being a little vague about why I can't spend more than $500 on rent, but I just can't," she pauses and takes a deep breath. "I'm trying to get myself out of a bad situation at the dorms before it gets even worse, but at the same time, I have other responsibilities too. It's just so overwhelming," she says as her rant ends and her eyes begin to water.

Feeling even more embarrassed now for breaking down in front of this girl she barely knew, Brittany puts her face in her hands and turns away from the Latina. On the other hand, Santana has no idea what is going on with the blonde, but it's obvious that the girl needed some help. Usually not the hugging type, she quickly but delicately wraps her arms around Brittany and holds her tight until her breathing evens out and she calms down. Once that happens, the blonde quietly detaches herself from the Latina, immediately missing the warmth of her embrace.

"I'm sorry I'm such a mess," Brittany apologizes again.

"You don't have to keep apologizing Britt; you did nothing wrong," Santana assures. "Look... I know that I don't know you very well, but there's obviously something going on in your life; something more than just the issues with the soccer team. I'm not gonna ask you what that is coz it's none of my business, but if you ever want to talk about it or anything else, I'm here. And so are the other girls."

Hearing the sincerity in Santana's voice felt comforting to Brittany. Since she had first moved to LA, Sam and Mike had been the only two people that truly cared about her and had her back. But now, it felt like she was adding on to that list.

"Would you mind coming back inside with me so we can finish up our meeting?" Santana softly asks. "I promise we won't bite," she says with a smile as she lifts up her pinky finger.

Even though she didn't know a whole lot about the Latina, Brittany was beginning to feel really safe around her. Without a second thought, she linked her pinky with Santana's and walked back inside with her.

"We're glad you didn't leave," Sam says as he sees the blonde coming back into the living room. "Are you okay?"

Brittany gives him a small smile as she nods her head in confirmation. Santana then reluctantly releases her pinky from the blonde's as she reclaims her seat on the sectional.

"Sorry for the way I left; I just got a little overwhelmed," Brittany explains.

"That's okay B. We're sorry if we said or did something to make you feel uncomfortable," Mercedes genuinely states.

"You didn't, but I appreciate the sentiment... even though it's completely unnecessary," the blonde replies back. "If you don't mind me asking, how much exactly is the rent here?"

"Now before we answer that, I want you to keep an open mind and not freak out until we're done explaining. Okay?" Santana carefully asks, wanting to make sure that Brittany didn't bolt again. Once she received a slow head nod, she continued. "Our rent plus utilities comes out to about $3,000 a month."

"$3,000?!" Brittany exclaims as her eyes pop out of their sockets. She then glances over at the Latina that has an 'I thought we had a deal?' look on her face. Immediately, the blonde calms herself down. "I'm sorry... you were saying?"

All of the occupants in the room try their best to suppress their laughter so that the girls can continue their discussion.

"Anyways, like S was saying... rent plus utilities equals out to about $3,000 each month. However..." Mercedes pauses and looks at Quinn.

"... neither one of us actually pays for our rent," the other blonde roommate finishes.

The dumbfounded look on Brittany's face spoke volumes. "I don't understand..."

"Will you guys stop tryin' to confuse the girl?!" Santana mumbles under her breath as she plucks both of her roommates on their legs.

"Hey! That stung a little," Mercedes complains as she runs over the part of her leg that the Latina just hit.

"Good... serves you right Wheezy," Santana says, unapologetically. She then focuses her attention back on their guest. "What my roommates were trying to say - _but clearly doing a real bang up job of it_ \- is that our parents pay for our rent."

Brittany then makes an 'o' shape with her mouth.

"Our parents didn't want us to live in the dorms and since we've all known each other since we were in diapers, they rallied together to find us a nice place to live," Quinn explains. "They didn't want us to have to worry about rent while we were studying hard and trying to earn our bachelor's degrees so they decided to split it up amongst themselves."

"The deal was that each of us had to get a part-time job so that we'd be able to handle any other expenses that we might have, such as our cell phone, car note, insurance… you know, stuff like that," Mercedes picks back up. "Anything we have left over we can splurge on ourselves or our significant others," she says as she flashes her eyes at Sam.

This causes Quinn to scrunch up her nose while Santana makes gagging noises.

"Fuck you guys... you're just jealous coz I'm happy," Mercedes states matter-of-factly as she leans in and kisses Sam.

"My eyes! My eyes!" Quinn yells out dramatically.

"Britt... come quickly!" Santana says in the same dramatic fashion. As the blonde looks over at her, feeling slightly panicked, she notices that the Latina is trying to simulate an imaginary noose. "Please come kick this chair out from under me before I have to be subjected to anymore of their PDA."

Once Brittany realizes that she was only joking, she laughs out loud with the rest of the group. Even Sam is trying to contain his chuckles, but his girlfriend doesn't look pleased.

"Aight, Satan... you just wait until you finally get a girlfriend. I'm gonna be All. Over. You." Mercedes threatens.

"Hmm... I don't think Trouty would be too happy about that," Santana retorts. "But didn't that feel good to finally say out loud... how _badly_ you want this Latina Lovin'..."

"No, that's not what I was saying..." Mercedes tries to backtrack, but it's too late for her.

" _Shh shh shh_... you don't have to say anything else," Santana loudly whispers out as she places her index finger on her roommate's lips. "Acceptance is the first step," she says as she walks towards the kitchen, but not before throwing a wink back at the flabbergasted girl. "Who wants a drink?!" Santana yells out from the other room.

"I do!" Mercedes quickly responds. She then hears Sam snickering beside her so she pushes him off of the edge of the couch where he was sitting. "That's not funny Sam! You're supposed to be on my side!"

"I'm sorry babe, but that was freaking hilarious," the blonde boy replies.

"Yeah, Cedes... you did kinda set yourself up for that," Mike chimes in.

"Uh uh Asian... you don't get to do that," Mercedes says sternly. However, her commands fall upon deaf ears as Mike and the rest of the gang continue to laugh at her expense.

"Is it always like this around here?" Brittany asks after her giggle fit wears off.

"Fortunately, yes..." Quinn replies back happily. "We always have a good time with each other; that's what makes it so fun to live here, being surrounded by awesome people."

"Did somebody say my name?" Santana says as she walks back into the living room, holding several bottles of various alcoholic beverages. "You know my middle name is 'Awesome' right?"

"Funny, coz I thought your middle name was _Jasmine_ , like the Princess from Aladdin?" Quinn smugly replies.

"Hey! You don't just go around and drop somebody's middle name like that. She could be wearing a wire!" Santana says sarcastically as she subtly nods her head towards Brittany.

"I doubt she's wearing a wire," Quinn replies in a monotone voice.

For her part, Brittany had started to catch on to the fact that the girls are just messing with each other again.

"Ok then, _Lucy_..."

"Hey! That's crossing a line Lopez," Quinn says as she stands up from the couch like she's about to do something.

"Sit yo ass back down Q; you ain't gonna do nothin'," Mercedes says as she lightly pushes the blonde back down. "And give me my damn beer, Satan."

Santana just shakes her head as she hands the diva a beer. "You kiss your mother with that mouth?"

"Oh, fuck off," Mercedes says as she smirks at the Latina who has a matching smirk on her face.

Once Santana makes it back over to her seat, she hands Brittany a bottle of water. Confused, the blonde looks back at her with questioning eyes.

"I figured you had practice in the morning," Santana says with a shrug.

"I do... thanks," Brittany says as she takes a swig of her beverage.

"So... are you sure you really wanna live here with us?" Santana playfully asks. "I know that we're a pretty rowdy bunch."

"Honestly... I think this is exactly what I need. There's so much love and laughter here; I haven't felt that since I moved away from home," Brittany truthfully replies.

"Then you should move in," Santana simply says. "I know that I'm still playing catch up on the getting to know you aspect since the other girls have previously met you, but I really like you. Even from just the little conversation we had earlier, I think that you'd be a great fit here."

The genuineness in Santana's voice is soothing to the blonde and makes her stop worrying as much. However, she still needed to know what would be expected of her... money wise.

"You're still thinking about how you're gonna afford all of this, right?" Santana gently asks, causing the blonde to blush. "Thought so. How bout this?"

Before Santana continues on, she looks back at her roommates and mouths 'do you trust me?' Once she receives a yes from both of them, she picks back up where she left off.

"Since you don't strike me as the kind of girl that's looking for a free ride, how about we do this?" Santana pauses, making sure she has the blonde's full attention. "We each have chores that are assigned to us and it rotates every week. As long as you pull your own weight in that area, the only thing financially you'll be responsible for around here is grocery shopping."

"And by grocery shopping, we're just referring to the general stuff. Like the basics you'd find in any household: milk, eggs, water, bread, bacon..." Quinn clarifies.

"Now if any of us wants something special or specific, we'll be responsible for getting that ourselves," Mercedes adds in. "Or let's just say you have a guest over that likes to eat all of your food..."

With that being said, everyone immediately focuses their attention on the Asian man currently stuffing his face. Once he feels their eyes on him, he stops mid-bite and looks back at them.

"What?"

"That's your third bowl, Chang," Santana reminds him.

"I can't help it... it's so good!" Mike innocently replies as he resumes eating.

"So, Brittany... whataya say?"

"Seriously? Chores and food cost... that's all I'm responsible for?" Brittany says back in disbelief.

"Well, I'm sure there is other stuff around here that we could make you pay for but—" Santana starts to say.

"NO! I'm in!" Brittany quickly replies, accidentally cutting the Latina off. "I wanna live here."

Her response causes everyone to share a laugh as Brittany mouths 'thank you' to Sam. In return, he shoots a wink and a finger pistol back at her.

"So, Britt... do you wanna see your new room?" Santana asks, knowing that Mercedes and Quinn had only shown her the downstairs portion of their house.

"Uh, duh!" Brittany replies as she hops up and runs over to the stairs. The Latina happily follows behind her.

* * *

After Brittany received the grand tour of the house, she opted to head back to the dorms to sleep one last time. Even though she would've much rather stayed in her new room, she figured it would be more logical to already be on campus since she had practice pretty early. Before she left though, she made sure she exchanged phone numbers with all of her new roommates.

Due to her over-excitement, the blonde hardly got any sleep that night with the anticipation of finally getting out of her current living situation. That plus the knowledge that her new room would be directly next to Santana's made her feel anxious and a little self-conscious, especially since they would be sharing a bathroom.

As she laid there in bed with her teammate snoring on the other side of the room, Brittany couldn't help but think about one tiny bit of information she picked up on during dinner. When Santana and Mercedes were joking back and forth, Mercedes made a comment that consisted of 'Santana' and 'girlfriend' being in the same sentence. _Does that mean she's gay or at least bi?_ Brittany thought to herself.

Regardless if she was or not, Brittany's main focus needed to be on this upcoming soccer season and graduating... not the incredibly beautiful Latina that she would be living next door to for her last year at USC.

* * *

After a very long and draining practice, Brittany briefly spoke to Coach Sylvester about the good news and to inform her that she would be moving into her new place later on that day. Her coach told her that she was very happy for her and hoped that her new living arrangements would be just the thing she needed to put a spark back into her game.

Once she showered and made herself look decent, Brittany texted Santana to see when she would be available. Since it was Wednesday, which was usually the Latina's day off, she offered to help the blonde move. Luckily for Brittany, she didn't have a lot of stuff at the dorms, just her clothes, school stuff, and pictures of her family. After she met up with Santana at a nearby coffee shop, they both decided it would be best to start moving out her things when her current roommate was not going to be there. Brittany figured that she would just deal with the incessant questioning from her teammates about where she was living now once she saw them again at practice the following day.

Using both of their cars, Brittany and Santana were able to successfully move out all of her things in one trip, without having any run-ins with her annoying teammates.

"Thanks again for helping me out today. You really didn't have to," Brittany says as Santana sits down beside her on the sectional, handing her a cold beverage.

"It's no biggie; not like I had shit else to do today," Santana says as she shrugs her shoulders. "So… what do you think of your new room?"

"It's freaking awesome!" Brittany says excitedly. "My room is like the same size as my entire dorm room, minus the bitchy midfielder."

Santana chuckles at that comment. "Well… we're happy to have you here, no matter what the circumstances are that brought you here."

"You're really sweet Santana," the blonde sincerely replies.

"Ha! That's an adjective that I've never heard in association with my name before," Santana says, brushing off the compliment.

"But it's true. On the outside, you have this badass exterior that everyone respects and doesn't dare to mess with," Brittany begins as she re-positions herself on the couch so that she's directly facing the Latina now. "But on the inside, you're this incredibly caring and loyal friend."

Santana is taken aback by the blonde's assessment of her. Normally, when people first meet her, there's a slight sense of fear in them. They would never dare to be this candid or upfront with her. They would never even think to question her badassness. Santana's not exactly sure how she should respond, so she just sits there instead, picking at the label on her bottle of Mike's Hard Lemonade.

"I'm sorry if I've overstepped some type of boundary," Brittany says after a beat.

"No… you're fine. It's just _weird_ ," Santana finally says. "You've known me less than 48 hours, yet it seems like you've known me as long as Q and Cedes have."

"I'm pretty good at reading people…" the blonde replies, "but I'll definitely take that as a compliment."

As the two new roommates continue to sit there in silence, Santana notices that Brittany seems a little fidgety and is lightly biting her lower lip.

"You wanna ask me something, don't you?"

Brittany immediately halts her movements and looks back at the Latina. "How could you tell?"

"You keep biting your lip and you can't seem to sit still. You were doing that a lot last night," Santana replies. "I'm pretty good at reading people too."

Brittany takes a second to think about whether it's too early to be asking such a question. Especially since the Latina was being so nice to her, the last thing she wanted to do was offend Santana.

"So… are you gonna ask me or are you just gonna keep biting your lip until it bleeds?" Santana cutely asks.

Brittany releases her bottom lip from her teeth and slightly blushes, hoping that the Latina couldn't tell. "I was just wondering about something Mercedes said about you yesterday…"

"Wow… that's _very_ descriptive Pierce," Santana playfully chides, causing the tips of the blonde's ears to turn red. Upon seeing this, the Latina figures out what her blonde counterpart might be referring to, especially since the girl refuses to look at her. "You wanna know if I'm gay or not, right?"

Brittany slightly tilts up her head and makes brief eye contact with the Latina before nodding 'yes' and looking away, feeling extremely embarrassed at this point. _It's like she's reading my mind!_

"Well… before I answer that, let me ask you something," Santana suggests. Again, she receives a weak nod from her new roommate. "If I was, would that change things between you and me? Like, would you feel uncomfortable around me?"

"God no!" Brittany quickly yells out, slightly scaring the Latina. "Sorry… I didn't mean to yell. But no, I wouldn't feel uncomfortable around you at all. If I did, I think that would be a little hypocritical of me."

"What do you mean?" Santana questions, although she already had a pretty good idea.

"Well, I'm gay so if I had a problem with you, then I would pretty much be saying that I had a problem with myself… which I don't," Brittany starts to cutely ramble. Santana finds it endearing.

"Good to know," the Latina replies back. "And just for the record… I am too."

"Good to know," Brittany echoes. After a moment of comfortable silence passes, she speaks again. "So… I feel like I need to tell you something."

" _Okay_ … should I be worried?"

"Uh… I don't think so," Brittany says, unconvincingly. This causes Santana to raise an eyebrow. "It's nothing bad; I just _may_ have tried to Facebook stalk you before we met yesterday. It was unsuccessful though since your profile is private."

Santana chuckles a little bit, liking this more relaxed version of Brittany. "It's okay, Britt… I'd be lying if I said I didn't try to check you out as well."

Again, Brittany internally blushes and breaks eye contact with the Latina. She also begins chewing on her bottom lip again. Unfortunately for her, Santana picks up on this.

"Do I make you nervous, Britt?" Santana inquires. "Actually, do you mind that I call you Britt? I can stop if you want."

"No… I don't mind the nickname," Brittany bashfully responds. "But yes… you do make me a little nervous."

"Can I ask why?" Santana asks as she scoots a little closer to the blonde.

Brittany's breaths start to get a little shallow, being this close to the Latina. "I, uh… your personality is very intimidating," she offers.

"I think there's something more to it than that," Santana says softly as she studies the features on Brittany's partially hidden face. She counts the different size freckles gracing her sun-kissed skin, along with her bright blue eyes.

"It's just… you're very interesting to me," Brittany tries again, gaining the Latina's full attention. "And I'm not saying that because we play for the same team or the fact that you're probably the most gorgeous woman I've ever met. I'm just excited to learn more about you; you intrigue me."

Once again, Santana is caught off-guard by the blonde's bluntness. As she downs the rest of her drink, she stands up from the couch. "I could say the same thing about you," she replies back. "Plus… you're hella cute when you start turning red coz you're nervous or flustered about something."

As Brittany's face starts to turn a deeper shade of red, she subtly watches Santana as she walks towards the kitchen. Unluckily for her, she wasn't expecting Santana to come back so soon and catch her staring. Even though she tried to play it off, the smug look on the Latina's face said it all.

"I'm thinking about going down to the beach. You wanna come with?" Santana questions. "It looks like you could use some _cooling_ _off_?" she says with a wink as she makes her way towards the stairs.

All Brittany can do is laugh at herself. It had been such a long time since she let her guard down and allowed herself to have a fun and flirty conversation with a very attractive woman with a great personality. At first she felt that she might've been a little too forward with her comments and questions, but that didn't seem to bother Santana at all. In fact, the Latina seemed to enjoy the challenge and didn't stray away from asking her own questions. Although she felt that nothing would probably come of it, Brittany knew for sure that she and Santana were becoming fast friends.

And right now… that was enough for her.

Just as Brittany was about to get off the couch and make her way to her room to change into her bathing suit, she gets a new alert on her phone. After she unlocks it and checks her notifications, she sees the following message on Facebook:

 _ **Santana Lopez has sent you a friend request.**_

Almost instantly, Brittany hits the 'Accept' button and smiles widely to herself. She then types out a quick post on Santana's page before heading upstairs to change.

As her phone chimes at the new alert, Santana opens up her Facebook app and sees that Brittany has accepted her friend request and has already written something on her wall:

 _ **Brittany Pierce to Santana Lopez**_

August 5th at 2:14 PM – Los Angeles, CA

 _Oh snap! Since it's on Facebook, that means we're officially friends :)_

Santana lightly chuckles at the post before commenting on it:

 _ **Santana Lopez**_

Wednesday at 2:15 PM

 _I'm ok with that ;)_

With that last thought in mind, Santana sets down her phone and resumes getting ready to hit the beach with her new friend.

 _I think I'm finally home_ , Brittany thinks to herself as she does the same.

* * *

 **Author's Note:**

Holy cow! Thank you to everyone that has become a fan of this story so quickly. I definitely was not expecting the overwhelming amount of favorites, follows, and reviews that I've received already. Because of that, I decided to reward you all with an update to this story. To all of my **Quantico** fans… please forgive me for the delay. I promise an update is coming soon! I hope everyone enjoyed the playful banter between the roommates and the nervous/awkward/flirty interactions between our 2 favorite BFFs. As time goes on, you'll learn more about each of their pasts and see how it affects their present/future. Anyways, thanks again!

Stay classy!

-K


	3. The Danger Zone

_**Two weeks later...  
**_  
As the new semester started, all of the girls in the house were getting back into the swing of things. For Brittany, of course her teammates still weren't making her life any easier, especially since she had mysteriously moved out with no warning; however, the blonde couldn't have cared less. Although the girls on her team continued to make snide comments and tried their best to get under her skin, Brittany just ignored them and continued to work her ass off.

At the moment, she couldn't be phased because she was just so damn happy.

For the first time in a while, Brittany felt like things were finally looking up. As the days went on, the blonde got more settled into her new living space. Aside from having Sam and Mike as her closest friends, she now had Mercedes, Quinn, and Santana to add to that list. The girls meshed so well together; it was as if she had been a part of their group all along. Brittany and Santana had especially become closer since the blonde moved in. Although the soccer player had developed a special bond with each of her new roommates individually, nothing compared to the connection she had with the Latina.

It had been such a long time since Brittany had let her guard down long enough to let someone in, especially when it came to the female population. She had been burned in the past so she made a conscious effort to be extra cautious when it came to the women in her life, whether it be classmates, teammates, or mere acquaintances. She was always polite and cordial to everyone, but she also made sure to keep people at a distance.

Brittany had been doing a pretty good job thus far, but all that changed when she met the stunning brunette.

Unlike the friendships she had started to form with Mercedes and Quinn, Brittany's relationship with Santana was a lot more friendly and flirty. Whenever they were sitting on the couch together, they were always abnormally close. They were very touchy-feely and had developed this interesting pinky hold whenever they went places together. The quick closeness between the two did not go unnoticed by the other roommates in the house either, especially since they had never seen Santana take so quickly to someone before.

Although Brittany and Santana had never had this type of touchy-feely friendship with anyone else before, neither one of the girls seemed to mind it. No one knew exactly how their relationship had evolved into this more intimate friendship, but honestly... neither girl cared. They just went with the flow and continued making the bond they already had even stronger.

"Okay, fun fact..." Santana starts to say as she inquisitively strokes her chin, "... I'm related to Jennifer Lopez."

"Bullshit."

Santana instantly gasps. "How dare you doubt me!" She replies back to the blonde with a serious expression. "That's my blood!"

"Seriously?" Brittany says back, now feeling a little contrite and worried that she inadvertently called the Latina a liar.

After a long pause, Santana busts out laughing, no longer able to hold the straight face she had on. "Britt, I'm totally just fucking with you."

"That's so mean!" Brittany exclaims as she smacks her roommate in the face with one of the pillows from the sectional. "I thought I really hurt your feelings," she says sadly as she puts her head down.

"Shit! I'm sorry B... I was just messing with you," Santana quickly says as she scoots closer to the blonde and lightly strokes her arms. Now she feels like a total ass for making the other girl upset. "Please don't be sad."

Just as Santana was starting to feel even worse for making the blue-eyed beauty sad, Brittany finally looks up with a smirk on her face. "Gotcha."

Once the Latina realizes that she had just gotten beaten at her own game, she playfully pushes off the blonde before reclaiming her spot in the corner of the sectional.

"In all seriousness though, no... I'm not related to JLo," Santana says, feigning disappointment. "My ass doesn't quite compare to hers."

"Well... your ass might not be _quite_ as big as hers, but it's still pretty nice," Brittany says nonchalantly, more as an afterthought.

The Latina starts to feel a little warm after hearing that comment and randomly clears her throat. "Thanks."

Brittany, none the wiser, just smiles back at Santana. "You're welcome."

" _Anyways_... tell me something about you. Like something not a lot of people know," Santana says, in an attempt to change the subject and cool herself down.

"Let's see... something interesting about me," Brittany says aloud as she begins to ponder. "Oh, I know! I'm one-fourth Asian."

"No shit?"

"I'm so serious," Brittany says as she unlocks her phone and pulls up a picture of her family. "My dad is half Korean and Scottish while my mom is German and Dutch."

"Wow... I never would've guessed," Santana says as she studies the family photo. She had been inside the blonde's bedroom a couple of times and had seen a few pics of the same Asian man in passing, but she never thought to ask Brittany what their relationship was. "I always wondered where the shape of your eyes came from. No offense," she quickly adds in.

Brittany lightly chuckles. "None taken."

"Seriously Britt... you have the most amazingly beautiful eyes I've ever seen," Santana says genuinely as she looks back at the blonde who is staring intently back at her.

"Yeah? I could say the same thing about you," Brittany whispers out as she lightly bites her lower lip.

Suddenly, there is a lull in their conversation.

This had been happening a lot in the past 2 weeks since Brittany moved in. She and Santana would be having a random conversation when one of them would say something really sweet or sincere that left the other speechless. After a few moments of silence passed by, someone would ease the tension by clearing their throat or suddenly changing the subject before things got too heavy.

As if on cue, before either of them has a chance to comment further or make some sort of move, the distant sound of Mercedes' voice comes booming through the hallway.

"Satan! It's time to go," Mercedes yells out as she enters the living room. Brittany and Santana instantly break out of their trances and give their full attention to their other roommate. "Did I interrupt something?" She questions as she raises an eyebrow, feeling the slight tension in the air.

"No... me and Britt were just chatting," Santana quickly recovers. "Whose turn is it to drive?"

"Yours, _duh_..." Mercedes replies as the Latina just rolls her eyes back at her while getting up from the couch. "Hey B... are you still gonna come visit us at work tonight? I think Q said she might stop by too."

"Yeah, I'll probably stop by in a little bit. I just wanna finish up some reading for my classes tomorrow," Brittany replies happily.

"Sweet! I guess we'll see you later then," Cedes says as she holds her fist up for the blonde to bump. Brittany immediately connects her fist with hers before spreading her fingers out and making an explosion sound. "I'll be waiting in the car," the diva says as she walks away, leaving her other two roommates alone.

"You should probably get going," Brittany says half-heartedly, not really wanting the brunette to leave.

"If I must..." Santana replies, unconvincingly. "See you later?" She asks while holding out her pinky.

"Definitely," Brittany says back as she briefly connects her pinky with the Latina's.

"Bye Britt..." Santana says softly as she leans down and delicately places a kiss on the blonde's cheek.

Before the blonde has a chance to reply, Santana was already out of the door and on the way to work. Suddenly, Brittany felt a little sad and deflated that the Latina was gone. Instead of dwelling on it, she decided to throw herself into her school work and mentally start preparing for the Lady Trojans' first game on Friday.

* * *

True to her word, after Brittany had finished all of her reading assignments for her classes, she made her way to _Mr. Schue's_ to visit her roommates. The blonde had been there only once before because she was curious about the place where Santana and Mercedes worked at. She took a quick liking to the atmosphere and thought that their boss Will was a genuinely nice guy.

"Hey Quinnie, how was your day?" Brittany happily greets her other roommate when she spots her sitting alone at the bar.

"Hey B. Same ol' shit, just a different day," the other blonde chuckles out as she takes a sip from her cocktail. "How bout you?"

"Same here," Brittany giggles back. "Hey, who's the sexy barkeep?" She says loudly, perking up the ears of the bartender standing a few feet away with her back facing them.

Upon hearing the comment, Santana immediately turns around and smiles widely at the blonde before approaching her. "Hey cutie! What can I get ya?"

"Hmm... something sweet, but not too heavy. I have practice in the morning," Brittany replies.

"I know just the thing."

As Santana focuses her attention on the drink she's making, Brittany watches her every move, fascinated by the whole process. Little did she know that right beside her, Quinn was carefully watching both of her roommates and their interactions.

"Alright Britt, try this," Santana says as she slides a lime green drink in front of her.

Brittany takes a tentative sip before her eyes light up. "Oh my God! This is so good! What is it?" She questions as she takes a big gulp of her alcoholic beverage.

"It's a Midori Sour. It's basically just a fancy Sprite," Santana says amusedly. "I'm glad you like it."

"I've had this drink before and it most certainly didn't taste like this," Brittany argues as she takes another sip of her delicious beverage.

"Maybe they just weren't doing it right," Santana says in a low, seductive tone as she pops a cherry into her mouth. Although she didn't mean for her comment to sound as sexual as it did, she loved seeing the affect it had on the blonde who was now most definitely staring at her lips. "Should I make you another?" She asks, noticing that there was only ice left in the blonde's glass now.

"Uh, yeah... sure," Brittany rushes out as she slightly shakes her head. "But just one more; I still gotta drive home."

"Gotcha. How bout you, Q?"

"Yeah, I'll take another," the other blonde replies with a smirk on her face. Santana notices this, but decides not to comment on it.

"Hey ladies," Mercedes says as she joins her roommates. "Glad you could make it. Can I get you something to snack on since I'm sure Satan here hasn't offered you any food."

"Watch it, Wheezy..." Santana warns as she holds up a retractable hose labeled 'water' towards the diva. "I've got a dispenser filled with water and I'm not afraid to use it."

"Go ahead and spray me... you'll probably just increase my tips," Mercedes challenges with a smug look on her face.

"C'mon Cedes! It's no fun for me if you don't at least _pretend_ that you're afraid that I'll actually do it," the Latina whines, causing her other roommates to laugh at her overdramatic behavior.

"Yes... but it's fun for me," Mercedes chuckles out. "Anyways, quit your poutin'. We're about to perform."

"Not gonna lie... that kinda makes you guys sound like prostitutes," Brittany says with a questionable tone as she takes another sip of her drink.

After the girls ponder over this for a minute, they all come to the same conclusion.

"She's kinda right," Quinn says. She then shrugs her shoulders and throws back the rest of her drink. "Oh well."

Like usual, Santana just rolls her eyes at her best friend.

"Ladies and Gentleman, please give a warm welcome to a few of my favorite former students: Santana, Quinn, and Mercedes!" Will announces into the microphone as he steps on stage. "However, you guys might know them better as... _A Hot Mess_!"

"I guess that's our cue," Santana says as she removes her apron and walks around the other side of the bar. "Blair, can you take care of my girl Britt while I'm gone?"

Although she knew that the Latina didn't mean anything by it, hearing Santana refer to her as 'my girl' made Brittany's heart rate slightly increase.

"Sure thing," the brunette waitress agrees.

"I'm so excited to hear you guys sing!" Brittany says excitedly as she clasps her hands together, shaking off her earlier thoughts that were clouding her mind. "And I love the name of your group."

Santana doesn't verbally respond. Instead, she winks back at the blonde as she loops her arm around Quinn's and Mercedes' and heads towards the stage. Once they take their places, the lights slightly dim and the music kicks in. As the beginning melody of " _Push It_ " filters throughout the room, Brittany watches her roommates with a cheerful expression as they go through their playful choreography.

Although each of the girls were rapping rather than singing, Brittany could tell they each had a really great voice. She especially loved hearing the sultry tone of the Latina.

 _I can only imagine how she sounds when singing a ballad_ , Brittany thinks to herself.

After the girls' performance ends, Mercedes and Santana get back to work. Not too much longer after that, Brittany and Quinn head home.

Being at the house by themselves, Brittany sees this as an opportunity to pick the other blonde's brain a little bit.

"Something on your mind?" Quinn questions.

"Can everyone read my mind now?" Brittany wondered out loud.

Quinn lightly chuckles to herself. "No... I just figured you were thinking about something since you've been trying to drink that same bottle of water for like 20 minutes."

Brittany slightly blushes, knowing that her roommate was completely right. "I was just wondering what Santana's situation was..."

"Situation?"

"As in her dating status," Brittany clarifies. "I mean, I know that she's single but does she like date at all?"

"Shouldn't you be asking Santana about this?" Quinn counters back.

"I would... it just seems like that particular conversation is kinda off limits," Brittany explains. "We talk about any and everything else you can think of, but for whatever reason, the relationship stuff always gets overlooked."

Since Brittany had moved into the house, she had noticed on several occasions the amount of women that constantly hit on Santana and give her their phone numbers. The Latina would sometimes accept the new number or politely decline; however, Brittany couldn't think back to a day when Santana mentioned anything about going out on a date or just meeting up with somebody. Naturally, this made the blonde more curious, especially after seeing the slew of women that were practically throwing themselves at the Latina while she was tending bar.

"This really is a conversation you should be having with her," Quinn says politely. "But I will say this... Santana is _very_ popular with the ladies. She's definitely not a virgin, that's for sure."

With that very vague response, Quinn says goodnight to the blonde and makes her way down the hallway to her room. Meanwhile, Brittany is left alone in the kitchen with her curious, yet complicated thoughts.

 _What the hell does that even mean?_ Brittany wonders.

* * *

Thursday passes by painfully slow. Since none of the girls had classes the next day (Friday), they decided to hit up a club later that night to celebrate the beginning of their last year as undergrads. Because Santana and Mercedes had to work, they both agreed to catch up with their other roommates after they got off and had a chance to clean up a bit.

After a couple of hours had passed, everyone at the club was having a good time. While Mercedes and Sam were practically sucking face all night, the other three roommates and Mike were having a great time dancing together and just being young adults.

There had been a few times where Brittany and Santana had gotten extremely close on the dance floor, disappearing into their own little world. The blonde was quite impressed with the Latina's moves, seeing that she had always found it difficult to find a suitable dance partner to match her impeccable skills. Mike was a pretty good fit, but Brittany much rather preferred the feeling of her arms being wrapped possessively around Santana as if she were hers.

Although Brittany knew that it was all in good fun, just the mere idea of thinking of the Latina in that way made her feel more alive than she ever had in the past few years. With that being said, she knew that there was a line that couldn't be crossed. Santana was her roommate and quickly becoming one of her favorite people; that was definitely something that she didn't want to risk or ruin.

* * *

Later on that night as everyone said their goodbyes and headed their respective ways, Brittany noticed that Santana was not with their group. She had seen the Latina chatting with a very attractive brunette earlier on when she had taken a break from dancing with her roommates. The two appeared to be getting very acquainted on and off the dance floor, causing a weird sense of jealously to stir in the blonde's stomach. It didn't help matters any when Quinn said that Santana had left the club already with the woman that they had all seen the Latina mingling with earlier.

Without another word, Brittany and her other two roommates left the club and headed back to their house. Much like the car ride home, the blonde remained quiet as her mind was consumed by various things. When she finally laid down to get some much needed rest before the big game tomorrow, she felt like her brain just wouldn't shut off. Instead of staying in bed and repeatedly tossing and turning until exhaustion finally took over, she decided to sit out on the back deck that connected her room to Santana's and get some fresh air.

Less than 30 minutes later, this is exactly where the Latina found her when she arrived home.

"Hey... I didn't think you'd still be up," Santana says as she leans against the sliding door leading from her bedroom to the back deck.

"Couldn't sleep," Brittany murmurs out, barely acknowledging the Latina's presence as she continues to stare out at the beach below them.

"You wanna talk about it?"

"Not really," Brittany curtly states, still not looking at her roommate. Santana could tell that something was definitely bothering her, judging by her solemn behavior and how she was being so short with her answers. The Latina opted not to pry though, assuming that the blonde was just probably nervous about her first game the next day. "Have a good time?"

By the inflection in her voice, Santana immediately picked up on what it was the blonde was referring to when inquiring about her having a 'good time'.

"It was okay I guess," Santana replies nonchalantly, carefully observing the blonde's reaction.

" _Hmm_..." was the noncommittal answer that she received from the blonde.

Still befuddled by her usually chipper roommate's odd behavior, Santana silently slips back into her room without another word. Hearing the door slide close, Brittany immediately regrets how rude and standoffish she was being towards her friend.

Sulking in defeat, Brittany silently berates herself for acting so childishly. She knew that she had no good reason as to why she was behaving this way but she just couldn't help herself. After the great night that they were having, why did it upset her so much that her _friend_ left with someone else? Santana was a single woman and could do whatever she pleased, yet Brittany knew that she wouldn't have cared at all if it was Quinn that had left the club with some random person.

If she was being completely honest with herself, the blonde knew that deep down, her growing attraction to Santana was the cause of this new unfounded emotion that she was currently experiencing. Brittany knew that the Latina found her attractive too, but was there anything more to it than just the physical aspect? Only Santana could answer that question for her, but there was no way in hell that the blonde was prepared to ask it. All she knew for sure was that she really liked the brunette; however, the fact that Santana was her roommate only added more stress and irrational thinking to her already fragile mind.

 _I should go apologize_ , she says to herself.

Before the blonde can make a move to get up from her seat to put her plan into action, the sound of the sliding glass door opening catches her attention. As the door closes again and the Latina gracefully takes a seat next to her, Brittany can't help but notice her changed attire. Instead of the skintight black dress that Santana was sporting only minutes ago, she now looks a bit more comfortable in a pair of plaid sleep shorts and a spaghetti-strap tank top.

The two roommates sit there in silence for a few minutes, contemplating what the next step should be. While Brittany tries to think of the proper way to say sorry for being an ass, Santana is trying to give her adequate time and space to figure out whatever it is that is on her mind. However, after a certain amount of time had passed, the Latina decides to try and help by opening up the lines of communication.

"I wasn't always cool about my sexuality as I am now," Santana starts off. She pauses momentarily as she uses her peripheral vision to see the slight movement of Brittany's head turn towards her; the random comment catching the blonde off-guard. This lets the Latina know that she has the other girl's attention. "I always knew pretty early on that I was different; I just didn't know exactly _how_ different from the other girls I was. Even though I was born and raised in LA, I wanted more than anything to just be 'normal' and accepted by everyone."

Intrigued by this story, Brittany prods further. "So, what changed?"

"Once I started high school, I rose to the top of the popularity ladder pretty quickly. Quinn and I were cheerleaders so it was kind of an instant thing that all of the other girls that weren't on the team hated us or wanted to be us coz all of the guys wanted to date us. Because of that, I had to grow some pretty thick skin," Santana continues on. "I guess that's where all of my bitchy-ness originated from; I used it as a defense mechanism," she pauses. "Anyways, there was one night when we were at a house party and the head QB for our team started talking to me. He was pretty cute so I played along. Next thing I know, we're in a steamy make-out session upstairs in one of the vacant bedrooms. Things started escalating really quickly, to the point where I totally freaked out."

"He didn't..." Brittany cautiously asks, hoping that the bad thought that was floating around inside her mind wasn't true.

Upon realizing what the blonde must've thought, Santana quickly corrects her. "God no! It was nothing like that," she reassures, causing Brittany to release the breath that she had been holding. "He was actually really sweet. Once he calmed me down, we actually had a nice, long conversation. Before I even told him, he had already figured out why I got so scared and freaked out."

"What happened next?" Brittany questions, feeling more enthralled by this story by the second.

"Nothing really. Puck – _the quarterback_ – promised that he wouldn't tell anybody."

"And he kept his word?"

"Yeah, he did. Whether or not the fact that I threatened to tell all of the girls at school how small his penis was played a factor in that is beyond me," Santana casually adds in. For the first time since she returned home, she heard an audible laugh fall from the blonde's pink lips. "I'm glad I can still make you laugh, despite whatever it was that made you upset earlier."

The timid smile slightly falls from Brittany's face as she's reminded of her ill-conceived behavior a few minutes prior. "I'm sorry about before. It was nothing you did; I just have a lot on my mind."

"Okay."

Brittany takes the short response and the quick flash of a smile as a nod that everything has been forgiven. "So, whatever happened to this Puck character?" she inquires after a beat.

"His real name is Noah. After that incident, we actually became pretty close. He's kinda like the brother I never had. After high school, he joined the Air Force," Santana sincerely says, feeling proud of her friend for choosing to serve his country. "Anyways, after that, I told Q and Cedes. They were super cool about it. Actually, they're the ones that convinced me to join the Glee Club."

"Is that the club that your boss was in charge of?"

"Yep... one in the same," the Latina happily replies. "He taught us so many things in that class through the gift of music. His lessons always tied into something much bigger than we were aware of at the time; it made me stop fighting so hard against myself and to finally accept all of this awesomeness that you see before you," she says while goofily pointing at herself.

Brittany laughs again, a little louder this time. "You're absolutely ridiculous," she chuckles out. "I'm glad that I get to be a part of the _awesomeness_ that is Santana Lopez," the blonde says with a little accent.

Santana shyly smiles at the soccer star before they fall into a comfortable silence. The Latina debates on whether she should just leave their conversation at that or continue to slowly let her walls down and invite Brittany in.

"I didn't sleep with her," Santana blurts out to no one in particular.

"What?"

"That girl from the club," the Latina elaborates as she focuses her attention on the blonde. "I didn't sleep with her."

"Oh... okay," Brittany replies back, not sure of what to do with that information. "You didn't have to tell me that; it's none of my business."

Although she had meant the words that had left her mouth, Brittany couldn't help the wave of relief she felt with Santana's admission. On the other hand, the Latina knew she didn't have to disclose that information to the blonde, but for whatever reason, she felt compelled to.

"I know... but I wanted to," Santana simply says. "I'm sure that Quinn has probably eluded to my 'reputation' before."

Brittany's cheeks immediately start turning red as she puts her head down. "She might've mentioned it... or I may have inquired about it," she mutters under her breath, feeling a little embarrassed. Brittany then begins picking at the fabric of her shirt; another nervous habit.

"It's okay... I know I haven't really been forthcoming when it comes to that type of stuff," Santana assures as she lays her hand on top of the blonde's, hoping to ease her mind. This instantly soothes the blue-eyed girl. "But to set the record straight; no... I don't sleep with every girl I go home with."

Hearing this piques the blonde's interest as she looks at the Latina expectantly, urging her to continue. Slowly, Santana retracts her hand from Brittany's, resting it into her own lap as she ponders over what exactly she plans on sharing with her roommate. Both girls unknowingly miss the feeling of the other's hand connecting with their own, but neither comment on the loss of contact.

"I go home with a lot of girls... I won't deny that," Santana candidly says, "but... usually _they're_ the ones getting all of the pleasure."

Brittany tilts her head as she looks at her friend skeptically, not fully understanding what she means.

Understanding the conundrum that the blonde is in, the Latina bluntly elaborates. "To put it in more _technical_ terms... they're the ones getting _fucked_ ; not me."

" _Oh_..." Brittany says, sounding a bit taken aback as her mouth forms a perfect 'o' shape.

"You don't have to sound so surprised," the Latina playfully chides.

"I'm sorry... I just didn't peg you as the 'all about the pleasing and not receiving' type of girl," the blonde replies. "And I mean that in the nicest, most non-whorish way possible," she adds in, hoping that she didn't offend the other girl.

Santana lightly chuckles. "It's okay, Britt... I know what you meant."

"So... does that mean that you've never..." Brittany curiously inquires as she gestures with her hand, in hopes that the Latina would pick up on what she was asking without having to physically say the words.

Again, the Latina giggles at how cute her roommate is being right now.

"If you're asking if I've ever experienced that _magical_ euphoria before, then the answer is yes," Santana begins. "Unfortunately, it's always been _self_ -inflicted."

Brittany finds herself at a loss for words from this new, candid information that the Latina is deciding to share with her. She feels conflicted because although she's overjoyed that Santana trusts her enough to even tell her such things – especially things that she's positive her other two roommates know nothing about – she also feels sad that the Latina has limited herself to that type of pleasure from another woman.

"I don't get it," the blonde finally settles on. "Why?"

Santana shrugs her shoulders. "I don't know... I guess I just haven't found someone that can make me feel as good as I make them feel so I stopped looking," she begins to say. "And I'm not trying to boost my own ego and say that I'm the shit, but I know what I like so I'd much rather show a girl a good time and then come home and take care of myself, if I need to."

"So... you don't spend the night and give them a chance to _return_ the favor?" Brittany playfully asks as she wiggles her eyebrows.

"Nope. I prefer to not have to fake an orgasm to give the illusion that I'm completely satisfied," Santana simply says. "I know that I probably sound like a dick, but I'm very upfront about my intentions with every girl that I've had the potential to hook up with. I tell them straight up that if anything happens, it would be a one-time thing. I don't need their number because I'm not going to call them nor am I looking for a girlfriend. Spending the night or bringing them back here would only send them the wrong message."

Even though the brunette's line of reasoning sounded a bit harsh, Brittany respected the fact that Santana didn't toy with girls' emotions and tell them what she thought they wanted to hear just so that she could get laid – or whatever it was that the Latina did with said girls once she was back at their place.

"If you haven't been with that girl all this time then why are you just getting home now?"

Again, Brittany knew that this was none of her business. However, the Latina was the one who opened the door to this conversation.

"I was just taking a walk on the beach," Santana easily replies. "That's where I usually go to kill time before I come home and crash. Other times, I just like to go out there to clear my mind."

Quietness falls upon the two roommates again, but this time, it doesn't feel as comfortable. As Santana looks over at the blonde, she observes the far-away look on her face and how tense the atmosphere now feels.

"I bet you probably think that I'm a bitch now too, huh?" Santana jokingly states, trying to lighten up the mood. However, her efforts go unanswered as the other girl continues to remain silent.

Quickly, Santana tries to rack her brain to figure out why the blonde's temperament has suddenly turned ice cold again. For the life of her, the Latina just can't figure this one out.

After another few beats pass by, Brittany finally breaks her silence.

"I had a _slightly_ different high school experience than you did," the blonde starts off, instantly grabbing Santana's attention. "Although I was always good at soccer – which inadvertently made me somewhat popular… or at least _well-known_ at school – most of the kids picked on me."

"Seriously?"

Brittany nods in affirmation. "I was never the brightest crayon in the box. Because I'm dyslexic, that made learning things a bit more difficult for me, but the kids at my school didn't care about how much I struggled to keep up with them; they just thought I was stupid."

Hearing this makes Santana's blood boil. Even though she could sometimes be cruel to her fellow peers when it came to maintaining her social standing during her high school years, she never had the audacity to make fun of someone's intelligence.

"Luckily for me, Math was my saving grace when it came to academics," Brittany says thoughtfully before pausing. "Although now that I think about it, I think that just made the kids hate me even more."

For a moment, Santana cracks a tiny smile at that comment. She finds the other girl so cute and endearing that she often has to catch herself from staring at the blonde for too long.

"I only had one real friend in high school… _Becca_ ," Brittany starts again, letting the old name softly slipped off of her tongue after so many years. "Besides all of the tormenting from the other students, it was really hard being the only out student at our school. Becca never judged me though. She stood beside me through it all, making those 4 years bearable."

The Latina continued to listen intently, happy to hear a little more about Brittany's life back in Tucson.

"I was kinda crazy about her. Initially, I thought it was because she was the only friend I had that wasn't afraid of 'catching the gay', but then I realized that it was actually everything about her that intrigued me. I always thought that maybe she felt something for me too, but I never pressed the issue," she continues on. "But then there was this one night when she had this epiphany, I guess. Instead of having an unfulfilling sexual experience with someone we barely knew or even liked, she suggested that we lose our virginities to each other."

"Really?" Santana says as she turns in her seat so that she's completely facing the blonde. "Was Becca even gay… or at least bi?"

"I didn't think so… but she did some _pretty_ _gay_ _things_ to me that night," Brittany lightly chuckles out. The Latina joins along. "Anyways, after that experience, I guess she realized that she had feelings for me too. We started dating shortly thereafter, but nobody knew but us; she wasn't ready to come out just yet."

"That must've been tough for you," Santana says sympathetically.

"It was. Honestly, I only went along with it because I was in love with her. I would've done anything for that girl," Brittany candidly replies, looking away from her roommate.

Santana wants to comment, but instead chooses to just sit there and continue listening.

"Finally after Junior year, Becca was ready to come out and we were able to be a regular couple. That last year of school was amazing, getting to hold her hand in public and basically saying 'F*** you' to everyone else," Brittany says after a few deep breaths. "We had this whole plan of moving out here together to attend college after we graduated, but… that got a little side-tracked when my parents started having some money troubles at the diner. I opted to stay in Tucson to help my family with the business while taking some classes at the community college."

"That was really sweet and mature of you," Santana says with a small grin. But then, a realization from one of their earlier conversations hits her. "That's the _other_ responsibilities you were referring to the night before you moved in, isn't it."

Brittany slowly nods her head, confirming the Latina's intuitive deduction. "My parents are doing just fine now, but I still send them $500 every month to help out."

"So… what ever happened to Becca?"

"She left Arizona after graduation to attend Cal State. We were still together, attempting to do the whole long distance thing, but it was rough," Brittany states. "During the summer before sophomore year started, I had some exciting news to share with her. After my family's diner had gotten back on its feet, I re-applied to USC. Coach Sylvester was still interested in me being on her roster so she personally flew to Tucson to see if my skills were still up to par. I guess that I impressed her because she offered me a full scholarship on the spot, which I desperately needed."

"That's awesome, B!"

Brittany gently smiles in return. "At that point in time, I hadn't seen Becca since Christmas break when she came home to visit. Instead of telling her my incredible news over the phone or through Skype, I decided to wait until I could do it in person," she picks back up. "After two weeks, I was officially in LA. Once I got settled into my dorm room, I drove directly to Cal State so that I could surprise my girlfriend and tell her the good news."

Brittany then pauses for a moment, trying to gather her thoughts as she reaches the most difficult part of the story. She knew that this topic of conversation would eventually lead to this very place, but even being armed with that knowledge still couldn't prepare her for the raw emotions she was currently feeling. She's feeling so vulnerable right now, but she wants to be strong and push through. After how open the Latina was with her earlier, Brittany feels like it's the least she can do so that maybe Santana would understand a deeper part about her, especially when it comes to relationships.

Noticing her hesitation, Santana tries to alleviate the tension.

"Hey… we can stop talking about this," the Latina says as she lightly places her hand on Brittany's thigh.

In return, the blonde gives her a somber smile back as she lowers her hand on top of Santana's hand, lightly squeezing it. "It's okay."

With her eyes, Santana looks deeply into cerulean orbs, hoping to convey how sincere she was being when she offered Brittany a way out. However, the light nod she receives back is enough to convince her that she was indeed okay to continue.

"When I got to her dorm room, I knocked a few times but no one answered," Brittany slowly begins again. "I could hear faint music on the other side of the door so I figured someone had to be there. I tried knocking again before testing out the door knob and finding it unlocked. When I entered, it was me that was surprised."

As Brittany chokes up a little at her last few words, Santana quickly sits up in her chair and grasps the blonde's hand for support. With how heavy the conversation appeared to become, the Latina had a pretty good idea about how this seemingly fairy tale reunion turned into anything but that.

"After not seeing her for almost 6 months, there she was… right in front of me; in bed with another woman," Brittany finally reveals as her voice becomes slightly bitter. "It took her a few seconds before she even realized that there was someone else in the same room with her. Once she noticed it was me, she immediately pushed the other girl off of her and cut off that God-awful emo music she had playing in the background."

At this point, Santana is feeling a mix of emotions. On one hand, she's pissed and angry at how this girl could've done something like this to sweet Brittany. On the other hand, hearing this painful memory just makes her sad and re-affirms the reason why she doesn't do relationships.

Lightly, the Latina squeezes Brittany's hand, telling her that she can stop or continue.

"She apologized profusely, but I couldn't hear a word that she said. I was just so dumbfounded and in complete shock that nothing she said was registering. Honestly, it didn't matter what she said because nothing could excuse her behavior," Brittany says; her voice void of emotion. "Before I left though, I did ask her one question…"

"What was that?" Santana carefully questions.

" _How_ _long_?" The blonde answers. "She told me they met at orientation."

Now Santana is even more furious, thinking about how this chick wasted no time in finding a side-piece while her loving girlfriend was back in Arizona, trying to help her family out. _That_ _bitch_ , the Latina mutters under her breath, thinking out loud.

"After that, I left her dorm room and drove back to campus. I never spoke or saw her again," Brittany says in a hardened voice. "I never cried about our break-up; I just threw myself into my studies and soccer and did my best to completely erase her from my memory. I needed to move on with my life."

"She didn't go after you or try to reach out afterwards?" Santana says in disbelief. Even though this Becca bitch had royally screwed up, she couldn't believe that the girl wouldn't do everything in her power to beg for the blonde's forgiveness.

"She couldn't," Brittany vaguely responds. "I changed my number and blocked her on every social media site. When she came back home to visit, she saw my parents, but they did a pretty good job at stonewalling her."

"Did you tell them what happened?"

"No… I was too embarrassed," Brittany sadly explains. "I just wanted to forget it ever happened so I just told my parents that we broke up and gave them my new number. I think they understood and respected my privacy so they never pried."

"Does she even know that you're in LA?"

"Nope… she lost the right to know when she decided to fuck somebody else," Brittany bluntly replies.

Not used to hearing such language coming from the blonde's mouth, Santana becomes a little worried about her friend… and a little frightened from the veracity of her tone.

Suddenly, Brittany stands up, effectively breaking their handhold.

"People might think that you're a bitch because you're intimidating and sometimes your comments can be a little brash and abrasive… but at least you're honest," Brittany sadly states. "No one could ever fault you for that. And honestly… I would take that any day of the week as opposed to being lied to for an entire year by someone that you gave your all to."

The blonde quickly raises her hand to her mouth to cover a phony cough. In reality, Brittany used the ploy to wipe away a rogue tear that was threatening to fall.

"Thank you for trusting me enough to share all of that personal stuff with," Brittany recovers as she leans down and places a gentle kiss against the Latina's cheek. "Goodnight San."

And with that, Brittany quickly escapes inside of her bedroom before giving the brunette a chance to respond.

Santana finds herself frozen for a second before she decides to call it a night. As she leaves the back deck, she makes a pit stop at her and Brittany's joint bathroom so that she can brush her teeth before heading to sleep. After she's completed that task, Santana is just about to shut off the light until she hears some odd noises coming from the other side of the door that leads to the blonde's room. Pressing her ear against it, she can hear the light sniffles and whimpers that her roommate is desperately trying to keep in. Without hesitation, Santana springs into action and lets herself into Brittany's room.

Hearing the sound of her bathroom door opening, Brittany quickly tries to wipe away her tears to give the illusion that she wasn't just crying. Without an invitation, Santana makes her way over to the blonde's bed and slips underneath the covers. Gently, she pulls Brittany towards her so that her head is now resting on her chest.

"It's okay, Britt-Britt… just let it all out," the Latina softly whispers as she lightly rubs one hand up and down the blonde's back as her other hand tightens her hold around Brittany's waist.

Being securely held by the other woman and given gentle words of encouragement is all that blue-eyed girl needs to finally bare her soul and release the dam of tears that had been trapped inside her over the past 2 years. As she buries her face further into Santana's chest, the Latina just holds her that much tighter as she coos softly into her ear.

After several minutes have passed by, Brittany's tears begin to subside.

"I never took you for the cuddling type," Brittany says after a beat, letting the brunette know that she was getting back to her old self again.

Santana lightly chuckles as she uses her free hand to brush some of the blonde's hair that was stuck to her face out of the way. "I'm usually not, but I made a special exception for you."

Brittany is flattered by the words and softly smiles up at the woman currently holding her; making her feel safe.

"You wanna try to get some sleep?" Santana questions. "You got a big day tomorrow."

Not trusting her voice at the moment, Brittany silently nods and rests her head back on the Latina's chest. A few minutes pass by before Santana realizes what is actually happening.

In all of her 21 years of life, Santana had never slept in someone else's bed before, outside of her family members, which extended to Quinn and Mercedes. But, here she was… comforting another human being, preparing to spend the night with them, which clearly went against her cardinal rule. Santana could easily wait until the blonde drifted off and sneak back into her own room, but for some reason… being away from Brittany was the last thing she wanted to do.

Since the first night they met, Santana had felt this weird and practically automatic connection with the blonde. She couldn't really describe it either, but in the end, she wasn't trying to fight it. Right now, Brittany needed her. As scary as this intimate moment was for the Latina, it was also eye opening as well. For the first time in her life, Santana was catching feelings for someone. More importantly, Santana was crushing on someone that she hadn't even had sex with!

All these new feelings were kinda terrifying for the Latina, but at this particular moment, all of her insecurities and fears would have to be put on the backburner. Right now, Brittany needed a friend to lean on; Brittany needed _her_.

With that thought in mind, Santana hugs the blonde's body impossibly closer to hers.

"You are an amazing woman, Brittany…" Santana softly speaks into the air as she continues to rub the blonde's back soothingly. "You're kind. You're smart. You're funny. You're thoughtful. You're hella cute…" she pauses, hearing Brittany let out a muffled laugh. "Most importantly… you're genuine."

Brittany takes a moment to let all of the Latina's words sink in. She greatly appreciated having a friend like Santana, despite everything else that was swirling through her mind right now.

"That girl is a complete and utter dumbass for hurting you; she didn't deserve you to begin with," Santana sincerely states. "One day you're gonna meet someone that makes you forget all about that skank. But… if I happen to run into her before that day comes, I'll make sure to punch her in the ovaries for you."

Again, this gets Brittany to laugh and relax her body.

As she snuggles into Santana further, she leaves her with this one last thought. "I don't think you're a bitch," she sleepily mumbles into the Latina's shirt. "I think you're quite wonderful."

After those last fleeting words, Brittany finally drifts off to sleep.

Santana takes a moment to process the emotions she's currently feeling from the blonde's statement. She then places a light kiss to the Brittany's temple. "I think you're wonderful too."

* * *

 **Author's Note:**

Hey guys! I'm _sooooo_ sorry about the long delay. It has been a very long and slightly stressful 2 months for me, job-wise. I've been super busy with my new work schedule since being promoted that it has taken away a lot of my free time from you guys. However, now that things have calmed down, I can get back on track. I hope you enjoyed the Brittana interaction and some of the insights that were revealed in this chapter. As the story progresses, you'll get to learn more about Santana and her dating philosophy and how it slightly conflicts with these new found feelings she's developing for Brittany.

Also, I _desperately_ need to update _**Quantico**_. I've had a little writer's block with that, trying to map out what their next case will be and whatnot, but I think I finally have it figured out. Thanks again to everyone that is still reading, following, and/or reviewing my stories. I greatly appreciate it!

-Kris


	4. No More Running

As the natural light from the sun filters throughout the silent room, Santana begrudgingly awakes, squeezing her eyes tightly in an attempt to block out the rays. As she mulls over the idea of grabbing a pillow or the comforter to help shield her eyes from the unforgiving sun, she feels a heaviness against her chest. Slowly, she opens her eyes and is met with blonde tresses splayed across her upper body.

For a brief moment, the Latina internally freaks out, thinking that she had royally screwed up and crossed a line by sleeping with Brittany. However, as she looks over and sees the spaghetti strap of her tank top and carefully wiggles her left hand underneath the sheets to confirm that she is still wearing her sleep shorts, she relaxes a bit.

 _We just slept together_ , Santana says to herself. _Emphasis on the 'slept' part_.

As Santana starts to breath easily again, she replays the conversation that she and the blonde had the night before. She recalls how shocked and angry she had been to learn what Brittany's ex had put her through. Even more so, she was devastated to see the agony in the blonde's usually bright blue eyes.

Brittany being sad was definitely not something the brunette was accustomed to and if she could help it... Santana would do everything in her power to prevent it from ever happening again.

" _You're safe with me_ ," the Latina whispers out as she wraps her arms more firmly around the blonde's toned body.

" _I know_..." Brittany softly responds as she deeply exhales and slightly lifts her head up to meet the surprised eyes of her sleeping companion. "Hey."

"H-hi..." Santana fumbles over her words a bit, still trying to recover from the blonde hearing her last statement. "I, uh... I didn't know you were awake."

"I figured as much."

"How long _have_ you been awake?" Santana carefully inquires.

"Ever since I felt your erratic breathing, which was probably around the same time that you woke up and started freaking out about us being in bed together," Brittany says knowingly with a small smirk.

Santana opens her mouth to reply, but no words come out. Feeling a bit embarrassed, she opts to look away but is stopped by a gentle hand against her face.

"You don't have to put up a wall with me, San..." the blonde murmurs. "I think we're kinda past that, especially after last night."

Santana bashfully nods her head in response before meeting cerulean orbs again. "How are you feeling?"

"Pretty good, actually..." Brittany answers as she crosses her arms just under the Latina's breast, resting her chin on top of them. Instinctively, Santana brushes a blonde strand away from her face and tucks it behind her ear. "You've got some really comfy pillows," she adds in as she wiggles her eyebrows.

This causes the brunette to chuckle loudly and grin wider than a Cheshire Cat. "Well then, I'm glad they could be of service to you," Santana replies, not missing a beat.

Brittany smiles back in return.

After a few moments of comfortable silence passes by, Santana tries to lighten up the mood.

"So... your ex is kind of a dick."

The blonde takes a moment to ponder over the statement. "Y'know what... she kinda is."

"That's the main reason I avoid relationships," the Latina mumbles under her breath.

"Yeah... I meant to ask you about that last night, before the whole sobfest," Brittany says, laughing at herself a little. "What's the deal with that anyways?"

"There's no deal. I just make it a point to not get overly attached to anyone," Santana begins to explain. "If they don't have any power over me, then they can't hurt me. It's simple really."

"It's far from simple," Brittany interjects as she breaks eye contact with the Latina and begins to pick imaginary lint off of her shirt. "Opening yourself up to another person... making yourself vulnerable is what makes us human; it's what lets us know that we're alive."

"What's the point in feeling alive when the person you love causes you so much pain; when the person that you thought you knew better than anyone else betrays you and breaks your trust?" Santana lightly counters. "C'mon Britt... you should understand that better than anyone."

"Did it hurt like hell when I found out about Becca... absolutely; I won't deny that," the blonde replies, looking back up at her roommate. "But my time with her – the good and the bad – taught me something. Although it sucked, that whole experience made me stronger; it made me work harder and set higher expectations for myself."

"So you're telling me that even if you knew ahead of time how badly your relationship with Becca was gonna end, you would've still gotten involved with her?" The Latina questions, now seemingly even more interested in how the blonde's mind worked.

"Yeah... that's what I'm saying."

Santana doesn't say anything back at first. Instead, she carefully dissects the information that's been given to her as Brittany quietly studies her facial features, trying to decipher the harden exterior that is forming right before her eyes on the brunette's face.

" _Hey_..." the blonde's voice gently filters through Santana's ears, breaking her out of her thoughts. "Whatever you're thinking about, stop."

"Don't you wanna know what I'm thinking about though?" The Latina curiously questions.

"I do... but I'm sure you'll tell me when you're ready."

"You seem quite confident about that," Santana says as she playfully arches her brow.

"That's because I am," Brittany casually replies with a slight shrug and a subtle smirk. "But enough about stupid exes and irrational relationship fears..."

Santana opens her mouth to interject, but the blonde just continues on, not missing a beat.

"I just wanna feel this contentment and continue to cuddle with you. Is that okay?"

"I guess..." Santana huffs out as she rolls her eyes, feigning boredom. In actuality, the Latina's heart quickened at the idea of being able to hold Brittany for just a little bit longer, blocking out the rest of the world.

"Admit it; you love spooning with me," the blonde says matter-of-factly as she snuggles in further to the brunette's buxom chest.

"I will neither confirm nor deny that," Santana vaguely responds. "But you know what they say... spooning leads to forking," she adds in with a wink.

Brittany accidentally snorts as she tries to hold back her laughter. "You are such a goofball! And people think you're all scary and bitchy..."

"Hey... don't make me bring _Snix_ out," the brunette playfully warns.

" _Puh_ -lease... I'm not in the least bit intimidated by your whole _'Snix'_ persona," Brittany counters back, using quotations. "Honestly, Snix sounds more like a candy bar to me."

"That's it, Pierce; you're gonna get it now," Santana says as she quickly brings her hands to the blonde's sides and begins to tickle her.

Brittany starts violently thrashing around, trying her best to break away from the Latina's Kung Foo grip. Her attempts are useless though as Santana gains the upper hand and is able to successfully roll them over so that she is now on top of the blonde.

"San! Please, you gotta stop," Brittany pleads out as she continues to struggle. She's laughing so hard that her eyes are starting to water. "You're gonna make me pee on myself!"

"Just say you're sorry and this all ends," the Latina replies with indifference, enjoying the fact that she's making the other girl squirm.

After a few more minutes of trying to hold out pass by, Brittany finally resigns her defeat and yells out 'I'm sorry!' at the top of her lungs. Once her breathing isn't ragged from almost being tickled to death, the blonde regains her faculties as Santana rests their foreheads together, giggling to herself.

"I warned you..."

Brittany chuckles back. "I know... it was my own fault."

Santana slightly tilts her head back so she can see her friend's face fully. However, that was a dangerous move on her part because now she was vulnerable to the piercing blue eyes staring back at her. Suddenly, all laughter had ceased as both of the roommates' lips appeared to be subconsciously drawing closer to each other. There were mere inches separating thin pink lips from plump caramel-colored ones...

 _Knock... knock... knock..._

"Britt, are you okay?" Quinn's concerned voice echoes from the other side of the door before it simultaneously opens. "Oh... sorry; I heard yelling so I thought something was wrong, but it seems that I've _interrupted_ something?" She questions with a smugness to her tone.

"San tried to kill me with her tickling ability," Brittany replies, un-phased by the awkward albeit intimate position that the other blonde of the household had found them in. However, to appease the Latina currently lying on top of her with wide eyes, Brittany maneuvers herself to a seated position. Santana follows suit before meeting Q's eyes.

"What did you do?"

"I mocked the power of _'The Snix'_ ," the blonde carefully states, not wanting a repeat of what had taken place a few minutes prior.

"Oh yeah... that was a bad idea," Quinn says knowingly with a shake of her head. "She gets all bent out of shape about that."

"I _am_ sitting right here, y'know..." Santana finally says, making her presence known.

"Yeah, I know..." Q replies, seemingly unimpressed.

"What are you doing home anyways? Aren't you supposed to be at work?" Santana questions as she stands up from the bed and stretches.

"I'm on my lunch break. Unlike you, I don't have the luxury of sleeping in till noon on a Friday," Quinn says matter-of-factly. "Anyways, I'll leave you two to whatever it is you were doing."

Before either of the roommates can reply and declare that they weren't doing anything, Quinn is out of sight. Noticing the Latina's refusal to meet her eyes after a few beats, Brittany decides to break the ice.

"Well... that could've been awkward."

Finally, Santana looks up and shyly smiles at the quirky blonde. As she's about to open her mouth to respond to the comment, her eye catches sight of the bold red numbers directly behind Brittany that read 12:15 PM.

"Shit... I gotta start getting ready for work," the brunette sighs, causing Brittany to pout.

"Now I'm a sad panda," she sadly says back as her shoulders slump. "I wish you didn't have to work a double today."

"Yeah, me too," Santana replies as she takes a seat at the edge of the bed. "Although I'm not a big sports fanatic, I really wanted to be at your first game."

"That's sweet, but I get it... duty calls," Brittany says dejectedly.

"Ah, don't be like that," the Latina coos as she wraps her arm around the blonde's waist. In return, Brittany rests her head on Santana's shoulder. "After you kick my school's ass, you can come by _Mr. Schue's_ and tell me all about it. I'll even throw in an unlimited supply of Midori Sours."

"How can a girl resist that?" Brittany chuckles out. Feeling the vibration from her laughter makes the brunette smile.

"Don't worry about those bitches on your team; you're gonna do great," Santana says confidently.

"Thanks San," the blonde genuinely states. "I guess I should get dressed too. I'm meeting up with the guys to get a little extra practice in before the game."

"Tell the Asian and Trouty I said hello."

"Will do."

With one last squeeze to her waist and a kiss to the top of her head, Santana releases her grip on the blonde and bids farewell. As the bathroom door closes behind her, Brittany drops her back against the bed, causing her to bounce a little. She closes her eyes and deeply inhales and exhales before opening them again. Although her mind should've been one hundred percent focused on the opening game for the Lady Trojans that would take place later on that day, the only thing that Brittany could think about is how much she enjoyed waking up in the comfort of Santana's arms.

* * *

"Nice save B!" Mike exclaims as he runs over to the blonde and helps her up.

"Yeah B, I think you're totally ready," Sam adds in as he gives her a high five.

"Thanks guys," Brittany replies back with a smile.

As the trio grabs a bottle of water to cool down, they exchange light conversation.

"So... how are things going at the house?" Mike asks.

"It's awesome!" The blonde replies excitedly. "I couldn't be happier."

Studying her face more closely, both guys can't help but think that there's something more behind the redness on her face than just being a little exhausted from their practice.

"That wouldn't have to do with a certain feisty Latina, would it?" Sam says knowingly with a huge smile plastered on his face.

Water instantly shoots out of Brittany's mouth as the tips of her ears become fire truck red. "What makes you say that?"

"C'mon B; you remember that my girlfriend lives in the same house, right?" The blonde boy chuckles out. "She might've mentioned how close you and Santana have been since you moved in."

"I'm close with all of the girls," Brittany weakly defends.

"That may be true, but even I can see how much you've changed over these past 2 weeks... and I don't even have a mole on the inside of your house," Mike cuts in. "What I'm saying is that I've never seen you like this before; so happy and carefree. It really suits you and if Santana has played any part in that, then I'm grateful."

"I agree," Sam says sincerely. "And we've definitely seen a slight change in Santana. She's been less bitchy and nicer lately." He pauses. "Well... she still calls me _Trouty Mouth_ , but I think that's more so to piss Mercedes off."

All three of the young adults share a laugh.

"I really like her," Brittany admits bashfully. "She's so open and honest with me. Sometimes I feel a little weird because I know that some of the things she's told me are things that even Quinn and Mercedes don't know... and they've known her their entire lives!"

"But that's a good thing, right?" Sam inquires. "The fact that you've been able to break down her walls after only two weeks is astonishing."

"But what does that mean though?"

"I think it means she likes you too," Mike answers. "Since I've known you, I've never heard you talk about or show any interest in anybody. You've always been so focused on school and soccer."

"Yeah, B... it's time for you to loosen up for once; have a little fun," Sam adds in.

Brittany takes a moment to think about her friends' comments. Since her unexpected break-up with Becca, the blonde had been more reserved and cautious about the whole dating game. Although she now had some major trust issues, she wasn't completely put off by the idea of dating like her roommate was; the thought just hadn't crossed her mind much over the past two years. Brittany spent so much time busying herself with her studies and soccer that she didn't really have an opportunity to give any possible suitors a chance to pursue her.

But after spending two weeks living next door to the fiercest and most fascinating woman that she had ever met... Brittany felt ready to let herself live a little and see if there was something there between her and Santana.

"Maybe you guys are right," the blonde finally responds. "But right now, I have a game to win. See you guys later."

Brittany then rushes off the field towards the locker room to freshen up and mentally prepare herself for her last first game ever as a Lady Trojan.

* * *

"Hey Will, I'm headin' out," Mercedes says to her boss.

"Alrighty, I'll see ya next week," the curly-headed man replies back with a smile.

Returning his smile, Mercedes walks over towards the bar where her roommate is wiping down the counter. "What's with the pout?"

"I'm not pouting," Santana says back as she scrunched up her eyebrows.

"Yeah, you are. You've had that sourpuss on your face since you got here... and it's only been two hours," Cedes says knowingly as she takes a seat in front of the Latina. "Talk to me girl."

"About what?" Santana replies nonchalantly. "Shouldn't you be out of here? It's 4."

"Stop deflecting," Mercedes says sternly. "You know damn well what I'm talkin' about."

Santana audibly groans as she puts down the rag she was using to clean the bar top and gives the diva her full attention. "Fine... what do you wanna know?"

Mercedes grins victoriously. "I wanna know how you ended up in Brittany's bed after leaving the club with that cute brunette last night?" Before the Latina has a chance to ask how she knew that, her roommate adds in, "Q told me."

"Of course she did," Santana replies as she rolls her eyes, annoyed at the other blonde. "Not that it's any of your business, but I didn't sleep with that girl from the club... or Brittany."

"Okay... so, what happened?"

Santana shrugs her shoulders. "After I left the club, I went to the beach... _alone_ ," she says, emphasizing the last word. "Once I came home, I found Britt sitting out on the back deck. She was kinda giving me the cold shoulder." The Latina pauses thoughtfully before proceeding with her next statement. "I don't wanna assume things, but I think she was jealous of that girl."

Upon hearing this, Mercedes swiftly raises her hand and slaps the bartender upside her head. "Well, duh! Of course she was jealous," the diva says knowingly. "You guys were in your own little world all night until that other chick started talking to you. After that, Brittany was not like herself. The ride home was eerily quiet."

"I'm surprised you could see anything with Trouty's big guppy lips attached to you all night," Santana replies as she rubs the spot on her head that her roommate had hit. "Damn Cedes, you didn't have to hit me so hard."

"Pssh, girl... that was a love tap," Mercedes defends. "Even though I was gettin' my mack on, I was still _very_ much aware of how close you and Brittany were gettin'. My only question is... what are you gonna do about it?"

"What do you mean?"

Mercedes gives Santana a pointed look, causing the other girl to look away from her.

 _She never makes things easy for me_ , the diva thinks to herself.

After a few silent moments pass, Mercedes inwardly sighs, knowing that she'll have to push the Latina a little further to admit what she's already suspected for quite some time.

"S... look at me," she gently demands.

"I don't wanna," Santana says like an unruly child.

" _Santana Jasmine_..."

"Hey! I told you about middle-naming me," Santana says as she cautiously looks around to make sure no one else heard that. Mercedes just giggles to herself. "What?"

"What are you gonna do about Brittany?" She asks again.

"Nothing... I mean, what can I do?" Santana finally answers. "She's our roommate. Wouldn't that be a terrible idea to get involved with her? I mean, what if things didn't work out?"

"But what if they did?" Mercedes quickly counters. "You're so focused on the negatives that you're missing the big picture."

After receiving a dumbfounded look by her Latina counterpart, the diva decides to spell it out for Santana. "I've known you my entire life and I've _never_ seen you this happy or upbeat as I have these past two weeks; since Brittany moved in. That's gotta mean something S."

"But what if I hurt her?" Santana seriously asks, feeling a little more exposed than she cared to be in a public setting. "She's been hurt before; _badly_ by her ex. I would hate myself if I ever caused her any type of pain," she pauses. "She deserves more than what I can offer."

Hearing the vulnerability in her voice, Mercedes feels for her best friend. She knows that it took a lot for Santana to open up to her and express her feelings because usually she's locked up tighter than a bank vault; another thing to thank Brittany for.

"Santana... I'm not saying propose marriage to the girl," Mercedes begins. "Just give yourself a chance... and give _her_ a chance; don't make the decision for her."

After a beat, the Latina mumbles under her breath. " _I hate it when you're right_."

"I'm sorry, sweetie... what was that?" Mercedes asks, feigning ignorance. She loved it when the Latina admitted defeat.

"I _said_ you were right," Santana says more clearly, but in a _not-so-nice_ tone.

The smug look on the diva's face spoke volumes. "I love it when you say I'm right."

"Sometimes I hate you..."

"I know dear; the feeling's mutual," Mercedes laughs out as she stands from her seat and makes her way around the bar.

"What are you doing?" Santana frowns as she follows the diva's movements with her eyes.

"I'm taking over," Mercedes simply replies. She then proceeds to loosen the apron around the Latina's waist before removing it completely and tying it around herself. All the while, Santana stands there dumbfounded.

"I don't understand what's happening."

"Look girl... it's a quarter past 4 now. If you leave now, then you'll be able to make it to her game on time," Mercedes says like it's the most obvious thing in the world. "I'll cover for you while you're gone; just make sure you're back in time so I can go see my man play."

"But isn't Britt already expecting you to be there?" Santana questions, still missing the bigger picture.

"Yes... but I think she'll be much more excited to see you instead," the diva replies. "So... what are you waiting for?"

* * *

As Brittany finishes up the last of her stretches, she's momentarily distracted by the distant sound of her name being called. Looking around to find the culprit, her eyes widen as they fixate on the beautiful sight before her.

"Santana?" The goalie mumbles to herself as she lightly jogs off to the side of the field towards the stands where the Latina awaits.

Once she gets closer to her target and confirms that her eyes are not betraying her, a giant smile plasters itself on her face as Brittany gladly embraces Santana.

"San, what are you doing here?" The blonde asks, mild amusement and surprise laced in her voice.

"Well, I came to watch you play some soccer... but I can always leave," Santana casually says as she begins to turn around and takes a step towards the exit.

"No! I didn't mean it like that," Brittany quickly explains as she sees the grin forming on the other girl's face. "I thought you had to work?"

"I do, but... Cedes was nice enough to cover for me for a few hours so that I could be here to support you," Santana simply supplies. "She said you wouldn't mind having me here in her place."

"Don't tell her I said this, but... she was right," Brittany giggles out while the Latina joins in. "Will I see you after the game?"

"Probably not. I gotta leave right after so that Mercedes has enough time to make it for Sam's game," the Latina explains.

"Oh okay; that makes sense," Brittany says a little deflated.

"Hey, don't do that. There's no reason to be sad here," Santana assures as she playfully bops the tip of the blonde's nose. This causes Brittany to crack a smile. "Besides, do you know how much flack I'll probably get for this; cheering against my own school to show you my support?"

"You're absolutely right. We'll probably need to place you into Witness Protection immediately," Brittany says sarcastically. "Seriously, my apologies."

Santana playfully rolls her eyes. "Okay, _smartass_... go break a leg," she pauses, "or whatever the proper thing to say is."

"Usually 'good luck' is standard," Brittany simply replies with a smirk.

"That sounds so mundane and boring," Santana says, playing along. "But, I'll conform this time... just for you."

Slowly, the Latina stands on her tip toes and places a delicate kiss onto Brittany's nose. "Good luck, Britt-Britt... knock 'em dead."

For a moment, Santana stares at the blonde's partially open mouth and awaiting pink lips. All it would take is just a centimeter of effort for the brunette to feel Brittany's soft lips against hers. But... she refrains.

"Ladies! Let's get this show on the road," Coach Sylvester's voice echoes throughout the field.

"I guess that my cue," Brittany softly says as she breaks herself away from the Santana-centric bubble and puts on her game face. "Thanks again for coming. It really means a lot."

Santana just smiles brightly at the blonde before Brittany quickly pecks her on the cheek and jets off to join her team.

Leaving the brunette to stew in her own thoughts, Brittany cannot tame the internal smile or the rainbows that are flashing about inside of her head. On the inside, she's overwhelmed with emotion at the thoughtfulness of her roommate/best friend/possible love interest; on the outside, her face is hardened, fierce, and screams that she's ready to kick some ass.

Meanwhile, on the other side of the field, Santana thinks frustratedly to herself. _Fuck! Why didn't I just kiss her?!_

* * *

After an impressive 3-0 victory, the Lady Trojans made their way towards the locker room to hear whatever criticisms their coach had for them before they hit the showers. Although Santana had never watched or played soccer a day in her life, she was grateful that Sam and Mike had decided to keep her company until they had to re-join their teammates and warm up for their game.

With a quick wave goodbye to Brittany as she headed off the field with her team, Santana then made her way back to _Mr. Schue's_ to relieve Mercedes so that she could go watch her boo play. Once again, she graciously thanked the diva for allowing her to surprise Brittany at her game. The look reflecting back on the blonde's face was unforgettable and let the brunette know that she had definitely made the right decision. As usual, Mercedes just smirked as she tossed the words 'I told you so' over her shoulder before making her departure.

A few hours later, the Latina was pleasantly astonished to see Britt, Sam, Mike, and some of the other guys from the soccer team enter the establishment. As the young adults made their way to the bar to greet the Latina, Brittany quickly snuck around the barrier to give Santana a big bear hug. She then released her and made her way back to the other side of the bar and plopped down on one of the bar stools, like it never happened. Amused, the Latina fixed the blonde her usual drink as Sam and Mike told her all about how they crushed their opponent.

After about an hour had past and the guys were feeling a bit tipsy, they decided it was time to put on a little performance. Dragging Brittany along with them, Sam and Mike hit the stage and introduce themselves as _ABSolutely_ while they proceeded to do their own rendition of " _Can't Feel My Face_ " by The Weeknd. Hearing the ridiculous name of their group always gave Santana and her other roommates a hearty chuckle. Although guys in general did nothing for her, the Latina had to admit that her friends had amazing physiques and abs for days. And from the times that Santana had seen Brittany in her bathing suit, she knew the same applied to her as well.

Getting slightly lost in her _not-so-friendly_ thoughts about her roommate's body, Santana gladly welcomes the distraction that comes in the form of Quinn Fabray.

"Whatcha thinkin' about, S?"

Hearing the smugness in her voice, Santana does her best to keep her face neutral and not give her best friend any ammunition. "Uh, nothing… you need a refill?

"Sure," Quinn responds as she watches the brunette curiously. Once her new drink is placed in front of her, she takes a swig before re-focusing her attention on the bartender. "So… what's up with you and Brittany?"

" _Nothing_ is going on with me and Britt," Santana says exasperatedly, clearly abandoning her previous goal of remaining cool under the hazel eyes currently watching her every move. "Why does everyone keep asking me that?!"

"Defensive much?"

As Santana ignores the blonde and proceeds to walk to the other end of the bar, Quinn lifts herself out of her seat in order to reach over the bar top and grab the Latina's wrist. Santana huffs out her displeasure but stays put.

"Look, you know that I'm just bustin' your balls, right?" Quinn offers. Once she sees the Latina's face soften, she continues. "Seriously though, what's going on with you guys? I mean… I know that you like her, but you haven't done anything about it yet."

"Geez… either you and Cedes share the same brain or you two just wait for me to leave the room to text each other about my love life," Santana deduces. "Why are you so concerned about me and Britt? I think we should be more focused on you and Mike…"

"There's nothing going on between me and Mike," Quinn says flatly.

" _Exactly_ … but you don't hear me giving you the third degree about it," the Latina says defiantly, thinking that she's more than proved her point.

"Although true, you're missing one fundamental difference," Q starts off, putting on her best lawyer voice. "While Michael Chang is a fine piece of man meat with an even bigger heart, romantically… I'm just not interested in him or _anyone_ for that reason. The only current love in my life is Lady Law and that's where one hundred percent of my focus is right now."

"That's incredibly sad Q."

"Be that as it may, I know it's what I need to do right now in order to become the kick ass lawyer that I was always meant to be," the blonde explains. "Once I become successful in my career, then I'll relax a little and look for a suitable mate that can keep up with me."

"But in the meantime, doesn't that get lonely?" Santana curiously questions. Normally, she and the future lawyer never really had deep conversations about important things. Actually, until recently, the Latina didn't really share her feelings with anyone until a certain blonde came along and softened her up.

"No more so than you going home with a different girl every other night," Quinn challenges, causing Santana to break eye contact with her. It's odd to see the brunette react this way since she's never had a problem with Q or anyone else talking about her active libido. Whatever it is that has caused this current reaction though, Quinn decides not to comment on it. "But, if I need to get my rocks off occasionally, then I'll find a cute guy to help out with that. However, I would never want to lead Mike on and treat him as just a one-night stand for my benefit. I care about him too much to do that to him."

Finally looking back at the blonde, Santana sees a softer side that she never knew existed. Back in their cheerleading days, Quinn had always been so cutthroat and ruthless; it's part of the reason why they got along so well and basically ruled their school. Mercedes, despite being a diva, was always the more reasonable and level-headed one out of their group. She was much nicer than the two of them and very approachable. Although they all had different personalities and sometimes bunted heads, they each played to each other's strengths and weaknesses when they worked together as a whole.

Maybe Brittany was rubbing off a little on each of the roommates without either of them knowing it.

"Okay… I'm just gonna say this last thing and then I'll leave you alone," Quinn offers. Santana lightly nods her head, urging the blonde to continue. "I know you have a weird thing about commitment and that's probably why you're being so standoffish with whatever has been going on between you and Brittany, but you guys have amazing chemistry; everyone can see it. Regardless if anything does or does not happen between you two, I've really enjoyed this new version of Santana since B moved in. I hope she sticks around."

With that last thought, Quinn grabs her drink and makes her way towards the front of the stage where Mercedes is currently fangirling over Sam and his performance. Thinking about all of the events that had taken place recently, Santana comes to the conclusion that one way or another, she has to make a decision regarding the future of her relationship with Brittany. As much as she's loved their flirtatious friendship, it wasn't fair to either one of them to continue on like this without someone's feelings getting hurt.

 _What am I gonna do?_

* * *

A few hours later, Santana arrives at home after working a very long 12 hour shift. Upon closing the front door and activating the alarm, she makes her way upstairs and begins her nightly ritual to get ready for bed. Feeling a bit parched, Santana escapes downstairs to grab a bottle of water. Before she begins her trek back upstairs, the sight of blonde hair splayed across the sectional catches her eye. Walking further into the living room, the Latina sighs in content as she observes Brittany knocked out on the couch; the book in her hands long forgotten.

Carefully, Santana takes a seat on the edge of the cushion before gently shaking the blonde's shoulder. "Britt?" No response. "Britt-Britt… wake up."

After a few more attempts, Brittany's eyes slowly open, revealing those bright blue orbs that Santana has gotten lost in many times over the past two weeks.

"San?"

"Hey Britt… you fell asleep on the couch," the Latina softly says as she gently strokes blonde tresses away from the other woman's face.

"Oh, okay… I was waiting for you," Brittany replies back sleepily.

"That was sweet of you," Santana says back kindly. "Let's get you upstairs."

Smoothly, Santana helps Brittany up off of the couch and leads her upstairs to her bedroom. Once there, she pulls back the blonde's comforter so that her roommate can easily slide in.

"G'nite Britt-Britt."

Just as Santana is about to leave and head back to her own room, a milky-colored hand delicately wraps around her arm, preventing her from making such motion.

"San… can you sing me a song?"

"Uh, sure… okay?" Santana agrees after hearing the odd request. "What would you like for me to sing?"

"You pick."

"Okay… this is one of my all-time favorites," the brunette says as she clears her throat. " _ **There's a girl I know, she's the one I dream of. Looks into my eyes, takes me to the clouds above…"**_

Recognizing the song, Brittany gently smiles back at her roommate.

" _ **Ooh I lose control, can't seem to get enough. When I wake from dreaming, tell me is it really love…**_ " she continues on. " _ **How will I know…**_ "

" _ **Don't trust your feelings…**_ " Brittany adds in with a soft voice, causing the Latina to smile.

" _ **How will I know…**_ " Santana picks back up. " _ **How will I know…**_ "

" _ **Love can be deceiving…**_ "

" _ **How will I know…**_ "

As Brittany gets lost in the sultriness of Santana's voice, they end up singing the rest of the chorus in unison. Suddenly, the blonde is feeling much more awake now.

"Your voice is so beautiful," Brittany compliments.

Again, not one to ever take compliments very well, Santana shyly ducks her head while tucking an imaginary loose strand of hair behind her ear. "So is yours," she settles on.

As Santana looks back up, she stares back and forth from Brittany's ocean blue eyes to her very enticing pink lips. She has to physically stop herself from moving closer to the blonde.

"I should go."

Just as quickly as Santana tried to escape the room, Brittany firmly grabs her arm to keep her rooted to her spot. Suddenly, the Latina feels like she's experiencing some type of déjà vu.

Now in a seated position on her bed, Brittany asks her roommate the one question that's been plaguing her mind since she first moved in. "Why do you always do that?"

"Do what?"

"Whenever it seems like you're about to kiss me, we either get interrupted or suddenly you find a reason to bolt from the room," the blonde slowly explains. "Is it because you just really _don't_ want to kiss me? If that's the case, then just tell me," Brittany pleads. As much as hearing that Santana didn't return her feelings would hurt, she just couldn't take the suspense anymore. "I'm a big girl; I can take it."

Not daring to look into those captivating eyes, Santana takes a minute to think long and hard about her next selection of words.

 _She's giving you an out_ , the Latina thinks to herself.

After not hearing any type of response from the brunette after a while, Brittany begins to sulk, thinking that maybe she had it wrong all of this time. Usually, she's pretty awesome at reading people; that's kinda what made her such an outstanding soccer player. But now, sitting only a few feet away from the object of her affection… Brittany felt more lost than ever.

"Maybe I was wrong…" Brittany starts out. "There have been a few times when I questioned what exactly was going on between us, but I thought for sure I had it right this time." She pauses. "I mean… you left work in the middle of your shift, just to surprise me. You've known Mike and Sam a lot longer, yet you've never been to any of their games before… but you came to mine." She pauses again, this time breaking the hold she had on Santana's arm in favor of wiping away the wetness that was accumulating around her eyes. "I thought that meant something; it _had_ to mean something…"

Hearing Brittany's voice break at the end of her rant makes Santana feel like a total asshole. This was not how this conversation was supposed to go.

Earlier at the bar, the Latina had decided to have a mature talk with Brittany in which they both agreed that anything happening between them would be a bad idea. Sure… it would be fun, but the fact that they lived together could cause a lot of unnecessary tension in the house. Plus, knowing that if anyone was forced to leave the house, Brittany would be the scapegoat, being that Santana and the other girls had so graciously turned their guest room into a forth bedroom to accommodate the blonde.

Santana refused to be the cause of anymore pain in Brittany's life and her possibly being kicked out of the house if they were to dabble in a relationship that possibly didn't work out was the last thing she wanted to happen. Santana thought that she was doing the smart, responsible thing here.

But now, looking back at Brittany's slump shoulders and how hard she's trying not to cry… Santana knew that there was only one thing she really could do.

Santana needed to be honest and to stop playing the damn martyr.

" _I'm scared_ ," the Latina says, barely above a whisper. Luckily for Brittany, she caught the quiet confession and was now looking back at Santana, eagerly waiting for her to continue. "I'm scared of the way you make me feel because I've never felt like this before. I'm scared because I haven't been able to stop thinking about you since the first night we met. I'm scared because I've never dated anyone before; therefore, I have absolutely no idea of what I'm doing." She pauses to take a deep breath. "I'm scared that because of my inexperience, eventually, I'll end up hurting you… and that's the last thing I would ever want to do."

Taking another moment to gather herself, Santana slowly takes Brittany's hand into hers and squeezes it tightly as she watches the way they perfectly fit together. Finally gaining the courage to look back at the blonde's awaiting cerulean eyes, she finishes her last thought.

"You weren't wrong…" she says with a little more confidence. "Every moment that I have spent with you _has_ meant something."

As those last words leave her lips, a rogue tear begins to slide down Brittany's cheek. Using her free hand, Santana gently wipes it away with her thumb. The blonde leans into the touch before removing the brunette's other hand from her face and connecting it with her free one.

"Y'know… I'm scared too," Brittany softly adds in. "I'm scared of how attracted and how attached I've become to you in such a short amount of time. I'm scared because I haven't dated anyone since my two-timing, skank of an ex-girlfriend," she continues on, making the Latina giggle. "I'm scared of what happens next. I'm scared of inadvertently hurting you someday. I'm scared of thinking about the possibility of this not working out. But…" Brittany pauses as she looks deep into Santana's chocolate eyes, "instead of being scared separately… why don't we just be scared together?"

Taking a moment to process the blonde's proposition, Santana replies. "Okay… let's be scared together."

And with that, Santana closes the distance between them and connects their lips. As the sparks of electricity shoot through both of their systems, both girls take their time and relish in what has been a long time coming. As their lips move slowly, but methodically against each other, Santana and Brittany find a natural rhythm; neither one of them fighting for dominance. It's unrushed; it's not desperate… it's _perfect_. As their mouths open wider and their tongues start to massage each other, Santana tangles her hands into Brittany's hair to deepen the kiss while the blonde grips the Latina's sides to have something to hold onto.

Eventually, the pair breaks apart for some much needed air. As they lean their foreheads against each other, they feel slightly dazed and breathless, but overall… they felt like they should've been doing this all along.

Breathing quite heavily, the blonde manages to formulate a sentence. "I've been wanting you to do that for two weeks."

"I'm an idiot for _not_ doing that for the past two weeks," the Latina replies, laughing yet scolding herself at the same time.

"It's okay… I forgive you," Brittany sweetly says as she places a chaste kiss on Santana's plump and slightly swollen lips. "But now… I definitely need to get my sleep on."

"That makes two of us," the brunette agrees as she moves to get up.

"San… could you stay with me?" Brittany softly asks, not wanting to spook the girl. "I just wanna know that this is real when I wake up tomorrow."

Finding the blonde to be overly adorable, Santana leans down and plants a delectable kiss on Brittany's lips. "Trust me… its real."

Without saying anything else, Santana slides under the covers and wraps her arms around Brittany. Not wanting to ruin the moment, the blonde looks at her sleeping companion one last time before snuggling further into Santana's embrace and closing her eyes. Not long after, both girls are fast asleep with tiny smiles gracing their faces.

* * *

 **Author's Note:**

Hey guys! I know… I'm terrible for keeping you all waiting for so long. I promise I will update all of my other stories as well, once I have some more free time. I was just able to get to this one first because I already had half of it written before I got promoted and assumed more responsibilities at work. Sometimes it sucks being a grown up lol. Anyways, I hate that it's taken my time away from you guys, but hopefully this update is enough for now. As always, thank you all for your continued support. You guys are truly the best and give me the inspiration to keep writing since our lovely ladies are no longer available to us every week.

Stay classy,

-Kris

PS – Congrats to Naya and Ryan on their baby boy Josey. I'm sure that he'll be a future heartbreaker.


	5. First Time For Everything

Lying wide awake in Brittany's bed for the second day in a row should have terrified Santana... but strangely enough, it didn't. Looking down at the sleeping blonde resting easily against her chest, Santana sighs contently as she smiles to herself. Waking up in a similar fashion like the previously day – minus the mini panic attack – the Latina can't help but think 'I could get used to this'.

Normally, Santana would be quite perturbed that she was awake before noon on an off day, especially after working a double shift last night, but at the moment, she couldn't have cared less. Even with only getting about 5 solid hours of sleep, the brunette felt more rested than she had in a while.

If she tried, Santana could've easily fallen back asleep, snuggled up with Brittany. Unfortunately, the all too familiar pressure currently working against her bladder proved to be too great to ignore. Carefully, the brunette attempted to wiggle her body out from underneath Brittany's without disturbing her, but just the slightest movement had the blonde stirring.

"Stop moving... more cuddles..." Brittany cutely murmured in her barely conscious state.

Santana couldn't help but giggle, making sure she kept her volume low. "Britt-Britt, are you even awake?"

" _Unicorns are my favorite_."

Again, Santana just laughs.

"I'll take that as a no."

Santana then attempts for a second time to shimmy her way out from underneath the blonde. Unfortunately, the movement caused Brittany to tighten her grip around the Latina's waist.

"Britt... I'm _so_ gonna pee on myself if you squeeze me any tighter," Santana whines.

"You smell nice."

"Thanks B," the Latina chuckles out while shaking her head.

Seeing no other option in sight, Santana takes a chance and gently pries Brittany's hands from around her waist. Since the blonde seemed to be pretty far gone – based on her cute ramblings – Santana figured she could easily slip out of her embrace without completely waking her up.

Plus, if Santana stayed there any longer... she most definitely would've lost all contents of her bladder on top of Brittany's bedsheets.

After Santana is able to successfully maneuver out of the bed and make her way to the bathroom undetected, she finally feels a sense of relief as she releases the flood that had been building up for the past few minutes. Once she's done washing her hands, she decides to brush her teeth since her toothbrush was lying idle on the countertop, staring back at her.

After Santana finishes up in the bathroom, she opens the door that leads into Brittany's room. Looking on at the blonde, she sees her curled up with the comforter, using the now vacant pillow as a substitute cuddle buddy. Admiring the visual in front of her, Santana can't help but grab her phone and capture the peaceful slumber that her roommate is currently in.

Not wanting to disturb the beautiful blonde before her, Santana carefully exits the room and makes her way downstairs. Feeling much more awake now, the Latina decides to do something constructive – but also nice and sweet – for her roommates. Knowing that she would be tied up for a while, Santana quickly shoots off a text to Brittany, just in case the blonde happened to wake up before she was able to get back to her room. The last thing she wanted was for Brittany to wake up and think that last night hadn't happened.

It _definitely_ happened.

Although Santana was brand new to whatever it was that her and Brittany were about to embark upon, she was determined to do everything in her power to make sure she was never the cause of any pain in the blonde's life.

* * *

As Mercedes sleepily shuffles out of her room, she bumps into a just as tried Quinn in the hallway.

"I smell coffee..." the diva says a little muffled as she tries to fight off another yawn.

Quinn inhales deeply as she rubs the sleep out of her eyes. "... and bacon!"

"You and your bacon, girl..."

As Mercedes jokingly shakes her head, thinking about her friend's highly unhealthy addiction to the delicious pork product, something dawns on her.

"Wait... if you're here, then who the hell is in our kitchen?"

Quinn furrows her eyebrows together. "I figured it was Sam; he knows how I feel about my bacon."

Mercedes just stares at Quinn while continuing to shake her head. "No, he's still asleep."

"Brittany then?"

"Maybe..."

As the roommates look at each other and then down the hallway, they silently agree to just venture into the kitchen area to solve their early hour mystery.

What they find is just as surprising.

Standing in front of the stove, the two roommates witness their best friend cooking breakfast while quietly singing and dancing along to the oldies tune emitting from her phone.

" _ **Hail (hail)... what's the matter with your hair, ah yeah...**_ " Santana lightly hums along. " _ **Hail (hail)**_ … _**Nothing the matter with your head baby, find it... come on and find it.**_ "

"Am I awake right now, or does S actually look happy?" Quinn begins to ask.

" _ **Hail... with it baby, cause you're fine and you're mine, and you look so divine...**_ " Santana continues to sing, none the wiser of the audience behind her.

"It's gotta be a pod person," Mercedes deadpans. "I've never seen her this happy before. Hell, I've never seen her up at this time on a Saturday morning... _ever_!"

" _ **Come and get your love…"**_ Santana croons as she does a few choreographed steps that looked reminiscent of watching _The Temptations_ perform. " _ **Come and get your love...**_ "

Unable to bare the cuteness that Santana was currently displaying, Quinn and Mercedes decide to make their presence known.

"Who in the hell are you and what have you done with our roommate?" Quinn says with the most serious expression.

Upon hearing the sudden voice behind her, Santana nearly drops the tongs in her hand, but quickly recovers, maintaining her composure.

"And good morning to you too, bitch," Santana greets the blonde.

"There she is," Quinn quips back with a smirk.

"Seriously though, what are you doing up so early?" Mercedes asks for real this time.

"What does it look like I'm doing; cooking you ungrateful skanks some breakfast," Santana jokingly says back.

"Well, I'm not gonna say no to that," Mercedes says as she takes a seat at the island. "Need any help?"

"Nope, I'm just about done," Santana replies. "But thanks for the offer." She pauses to look over at Quinn, whom appears to be hypnotized by the bacon frying in the pan. " _Rude_."

Mercedes snickers along with the Latina, finding the relationship between Quinn and bacon very fascinating.

"Q, if you sit down, I'll get you a big plate of your very own to devour," Santana says to the blonde.

"A woman after my own heart," Quinn playfully swoons, covering her heart with her hand.

Mercedes just shakes her head at her two best friends.

As Santana places two plates of eggs, bacon, and toast – Quinn's plate with an extra helping of bacon – down on the island in front of her roommates, she makes two additional plates, but sets them aside.

Noticing this, Mercedes asks, "You're not eating?"

"I will in a little bit," Santana answers mindlessly as she puts the remaining pieces of bacon in the pan, just in case. "I'm gonna wait for Britt."

Hearing the name of their missing roommate, Mercedes and Quinn share a look and a devious smile.

"So... what's up with you and Brittany?" Mercedes casually implores.

Santana nonchalantly shrugs her shoulders, trying her best to elude the question.

"You know what they say…" Quinn starts to say as she chews on a crispy piece of bacon, "secrets don't make friends."

"Q, you're a lady… cover your damn mouth," Santana replies back, slightly disgusted by her friend's lack of manners while devouring bacon. "Besides… don't they also say that two can keep a secret if one of them is dead?"

"You and your _**Pretty Little Liars**_ …" Mercedes chimes in, chuckling at the banter between her other two roommates.

"What?! It's a good show," Santana defends, receiving pointed looks from Quinn and Mercedes. "Fine… it's an _okay_ show."

" _Please_ … we both know that the only reason you still watch that show is because you're hoping that Emily and Spencer will hook up," Quinn says, refuting the Latina's previous statement.

"It would make total sense though!" Santana says, unwaveringly. "Over the years, Spencer has always protected Emily more fiercely over her other friends, _especially_ whenever it comes Alison. You cannot tell me she's not secretly in love with Emily."

"For someone who never dates, you sure do seem like a hopeless romantic," Mercedes adds in. "But… even I'm not fooled by your passion for these two characters. You just wanna see them make out."

"Hell yeah, I do!" Santana instantly agrees. " _Spemily_ is gonna happen; mark my words."

Again, Mercedes and Quinn just shake their heads at Santana and her unshakable belief in these two fictional television characters.

" _Anyways_ … now that you've successfully eluded Cedes' question for a few minutes, are you gonna tell us how things went with Brittany last night?" Quinn reiterates.

"What makes you think anything happened with me and Britt," Santana retorts, feigning ignorance.

"Well, let's look at the evidence…" Quinn says, more serious this time, as she puts down the piece of bacon she was about bite into.

"Besides the separate but similar pep talks we each had with you yesterday…" Mercedes begins, taking over for the blonde, "I've never seen you this happy before. Combining all of the times that I've seen you _genuinely_ happy in your life, nothing holds a candle to how much you smile whenever I see you with Brittany."

"Even when she's not around, just the mere mention of her name changes your whole mood," Quinn tags in. "I know you try really hard to hide it, and _sometimes_ you're successful, but most of the times… I catch the corners of your mouth shoot up into a little smile."

Thinking about Q's previous statement, Santana can't help but think of how true it was. Whenever she or someone else talked about Brittany, she couldn't help but to become jovial. Although she didn't think much of it at the time – and certainly didn't think she was being that obvious – Santana seemed to have no control over her emotions when it came to the gorgeous blonde.

As Santana got lost in her thoughts for a moment, subconsciously, a little grin graces her facial features.

"See! You're doing it right now!" Quinn points out, slightly alarming the Latina.

" _Dammit_ ," Santana mumbles under her breath, trying to look annoyed at her roommate's irrefutable evidence. "So, is that all you got… the fact that I've been smiling more lately?"

Mercedes and Quinn look at each other.

"Well, yeah… do you really need more proof than that?" Quinn asks.

"Yeah."

Just as Quinn is about to open her mouth, Mercedes holds her hand up to stop the blonde.

"I see that I'm gonna have to drop some knowledge on your stubborn ass," Cedes says as she repositions herself in her seat. "In the past 2 weeks, we've seen how closely you've gotten to Brittany. Normally, you don't like anyone. It took you like a year before you finally warmed up to Sam and realized what a good guy he was and how serious I was about him."

"Don't you think you're overly exaggerating a little bit?" Santana questions.

"Maybe by a few months, but that's not the point," Mercedes says. "The point is, new people scare you… no matter how much of a badass you claim to be. But with Brittany, you're like a whole different person. You're more considerate, you're nicer, and most importantly… you've been more open lately with me and Q."

Mercedes pauses for a moment, giving Santana a chance to negate anything that she's said so far. When Mercedes is met with silence, she carries on.

"I know you have this weird thing about not dating that neither one of us will probably ever understand without your help, but I'm glad to know that you've at least been considering it when it comes to Brittany," Mercedes concludes. "And if that doesn't convince you… the fact that you're up at 9 something in the morning, cooking us breakfast, definitely screams out that something good happened between the two of you last night."

With nothing more to add, Quinn gives Mercedes a nod and picks up the forgotten piece of bacon on her plate. The three roommates then sit in relative silence for the next few minutes as Santana turns off the stove and puts the remaining bacon she just finished cooking on the island.

Santana knew that she couldn't really hide much from her best friends, especially her undeniable attraction to Brittany. Because she was heading into the unknown with the whole new dating aspect to her budding relationship with Brittany, Santana knew at some point she would have to seek advice from someone she trusted (which was a very short list). In the end, Santana just thought that she would have a little more time to go over things inside her head before her roommates started grilling her for information.

"Y'know… I thought a lot about what you guys said to me yesterday," Santana starts out. "As much as I like Brittany, I thought the mature thing to do was to just remain friends, seeing that I have absolutely no idea what to do when it comes to dating and also because we live together."

Quinn stops mid chew. "Oh," she says, looking a little disappointed. Mercedes facial expression conveyed the same message.

"We both knew that those were factors that were holding you back initially, but after how happy B looked last night at the bar – and how happy you looked this morning – we just figured that you decided to go for it," Mercedes elaborates. The absoluteness she felt in her earlier assessment of the situation was totally lost at this point.

Seeing how bummed her roommates now looked, knowing that they had both been rooting for her and Brittany, Santana decides to stop messing around with them.

"I was all set to explain all of this to Britt; to make things easier…" Santana begins to clarify. "But…"

Upon hearing the word 'but', Mercedes and Quinn perk up with hopeful looks in their eyes.

" _But_ …" they say in unison.

"But… I just couldn't do it. I started to, but she mistook what I was trying to say as rejection… like she was wrong in thinking that I had feelings for her too," Santana explains while her demeanor completely changes. "I couldn't have her thinking that so I just decided to be honest with her about how I felt."

Quinn and Mercedes both wanted to hear more; to hear the exact words that were exchanged between their two friends. However, they didn't want to push Santana, especially when she was actually opening up to them and being more vulnerable than they were used to seeing from her.

"So… what happened after that?" Mercedes gingerly asks.

"She told me how she felt and then we decided to just give it a try and see what happens," Santana answers cryptically.

Mercedes and Quinn both look at each other knowingly. Although they didn't want to pry too much into this newfound relationship between their roommates, they knew Santana well enough to know that she was leaving out a major part in her story.

"So, that's it… you guys revealed your feelings to each other and then what, went to sleep?" Quinn says with a raised eyebrow and a knowing look on her face.

"Mmhmm," Santana says with a neutral expression as she crosses her arms over her chest.

"Really?"

"Yeah," the Latina replies back with a shrug of her shoulders.

Mercedes and Quinn both look at Santana, squarely staring at the Latina in her eyes. Santana starts to get a little uncomfortable, looking back and forth between her two best friends, trying her best not to give anything away. The staring contest is just too much for her though.

"I mean… we may have kissed, a little bit…" Santana casually says under her breath, hoping neither one of her roommates picked up on it.

" _What?!_ " They both say in unison.

"And you're just telling us now?" Quinn implores.

"Yeah… why didn't you lead with that?" Mercedes adds in.

"Now what fun would that have been?" Santana retorts.

"You are unbelievable," Quinn says while shaking her head.

"I know," Santana quips back with a wink.

Mercedes and Quinn just roll their eyes at the Latina, hardly enjoying the little game she was playing.

Before she speaks again, Santana takes a deep, calming breath. "Look… I was just having a little fun with you guys. In all seriousness, I need your help."

Hearing the change of tone in her voice, both roommates give Santana their full attention; Quinn being a little more reluctant.

"Not that it's news to either of you, but I have zero experience when it comes to dating."

"I'm _well_ aware of that," Quinn says back, slightly annoyed.

"Ahh, don't be like that Q..." Santana says softly, trying to butter up the blonde. "I have more bacon."

Upon hearing the magic word, Quinn's whole attitude shifts. Once Santana hands her what's left of the remaining bacon, Quinn gives her roommate her undivided attention.

"You were saying?"

" _You and your bacon_ …" Mercedes repeats her earlier statement. Santana just nods in agreement.

"I want to do right by Brittany and make her feel special without going too overboard, ya know?" Santana starts off. Both roommates nod their heads. "I don't think she has any plans tonight, so I was hoping to take her out on our first date."

"Awww… that's so sweet," Mercedes swoons.

"Wheezy, I'll give you all the deets you want to know later, but right now… I need you to lock it up and focus," Santana says more sternly.

"My apologies; I'm just really excited for you! I'll do better though," Mercedes concedes, reeling in her sappy/girly side for the time being. "Okay, so what's the problem?"

"Well, I have an idea of where I want to take her, but..." Santana pauses, suddenly feeling a bit nervous.

Quinn and Mercedes are now at the edge of their seats, waiting for Santana to continue. They had never seen Santana like this before, so while they were partly amused, they were also at a loss for words.

"Hey… just take your time," Quinn says earnestly; a complete 180 from how she was acting just a minute ago.

"I know we all give each other a hard time, you two more so than me, but…" Mercedes begins, earning an expected glare from her best friends, "you know we're always here for you Satan."

"That was almost touching, Cedes… _almost_ ," Santana replies back.

Mercedes shrugs her shoulders. "Anyways, don't be nervous; just tell us what you're thinking and ask us what you need to."

"Well… since we're dating now, does that mean we're like girlfriends?" Santana questions. "Do I have to start calling her pretty all of the time and buying her nice things?"

"You watch entirely too much TV," Quinn scoffs, returning to her annoyed expression. "Cedes and I are over here worried about your dumbass while you're quoting lines from _**Will & Grace**_. I mean, seriously… is there any part of the gay stereotype that you _don't_ fit?"

"Hey! These are legitimate questions," Santana defends, looking totally serious. "And for someone that is as 'straight' as you claim to be, you _sure_ do watch a lot of the same shows that I do. Maybe _somebody_ needs to check their gayness level."

Mercedes snickers under her breath. The friendly banter amongst the three of them never cease to entertain her. "You are too cute right now."

"Cedes, don't encourage her," Quinn deadpans.

"To answer your questions… no, that doesn't necessarily make you and Brittany girlfriends now. This is brand new territory for both of you so I think keeping things simple and seeing where this journey takes you is the best way to go right now," Mercedes sincerely states, completely ignoring the wishes of her blonde roommate. "Brittany doesn't strike me as the type of girl that needs to be told how pretty she is all of time, no matter how true that may be. And I think you're safe on the whole 'gifts' thing. Remember… less is more."

Santana raises her eyebrow, clearly not understanding what Mercedes' last statement meant.

"What Cedes means is that if you do decide to get a gift for Brittany at some point, it doesn't have to be something lavish or extravagant," Quinn explains. "Just make sure that it's something that would be meaningful to her."

"Okay," Santana simply responds, mentally storing all of this information inside her brain for safekeeping.

"So… where are you thinking of taking her tonight?" Mercedes asks.

"Well, since Britt really loves soccer, I was thinking of taking her to a game tonight," Santana begins. "LA Galaxy are playing Columbus Crew, so I thought we could go and she could teach me a little about the game

"That sounds good; not too intimate, yet you two will be close enough where she can teach you about the game," Quinn agrees, throwing in her own thoughts.

"You don't know how lost I was last night after Mike and Sam left me to warm up for their game."

Quinn and Mercedes both smile, picturing a clueless Santana standing on the sidelines of the soccer field, having absolutely no idea about what was going on.

"I think it's sweet that you surprised B at her game, even if I had to push you out of the door," Mercedes says, giving herself a mental pat on the back. "I'm sure it meant the world to her."

"I needed the shove, so thanks for that," Santana earnestly replies.

"No prob; what are friends for?" Mercedes rhetorically states.

"Now, what about food?" Quinn asks.

"Yeah, because stadium food is _hella_ expensive and not that great," Mercedes adds in.

"I heard about this new superhero-themed restaurant that just opened a few months ago. I figured since she's a nerd at heart, she would probably enjoy that… right?" Santana states, sounding somewhat unsure of herself. "What do you guys think?"

Still getting used to this new, more vulnerable side of the Latina, it takes both roommates a second to realize that Santana was looking for an actual answer.

"Honestly, I think wherever you take her, she'll be happy because you guys will be together," Quinn honestly replies.

For just a moment, Santana just looks at the blonde wistfully.

"And you call me a hopeless romantic," Santana chides her best friend playfully while bumping her shoulder.

"Yeah, yeah, yeah… are you gonna tell us about the kiss now, or what?" Quinn impatiently asks.

"Why are you suddenly so interested in my love life, Q?" Santana implores. "Is it because you're sad and alone?"

"Fuck you, Satan!" Quinn says, clearly unimpressed by the Latina's deflection.

"You wish, Fabray…" Santana quips back with a smirk.

"Can you two stop bickering like little school girls!" Mercedes cuts in, sick and tired of hearing the endless squabbling between her two roommates. "You two are driving me crazy!"

As Santana and Quinn look back at Mercedes with their heads held low, like two young girls that had just been scolded by their mother, Mercedes can't help but laugh at the situation. _When did I become the parent?_

"Sorry Cedes," Santana and Quinn mumble out softly.

"I swear… you kids are gonna drive me into an early grave," Mercedes replies as she shakes her head at both of them.

"Look… I'm sorry for being so adamant and a little overzealous, but this is the first time Santana has ever talked about a girl she was interested in," Quinn starts to explain. "Excuse me for being overly excited, but Cedes… I know you're just as intrigued by all of this, so don't even try to deny it."

Glancing over at the blonde and then back towards Santana, Mercedes huffs. "Q's got a point."

Quinn immediately gives Santana a pointed look; Santana just looks annoyed.

"S… we're not looking for graphic details about your new relationship with Brittany," Quinn says, speaking for her and Mercedes. "We just wanna know if the kissing was all that it was built up to be?"

As Santana's forehead slightly wrinkles in confusion, Mercedes takes it upon herself to clarify the blonde's statement.

"Don't act like you don't know what she's talking about," Cedes warns, "With all of the sexual tension that's been building up between you two since the first night you met, I'm surprised it's taken this long for you and Brittany to finally do something about it," the diva says knowingly.

"Seriously… you two would put Austin Powers to shame with all of the eye-shagging that goes on around here," Quinn adds in, just for good measure.

Just as Santana is about to refute their observations – even though they were dead on – a soft voice coming from behind them interrupts the trio.

"If you must know…" Brittany begins to say as she takes a step further into the kitchen area, "kissing Santana was incredible."

Upon hearing this, Santana suddenly becomes all shy and flustered. She was still somewhat getting used to how blunt Brittany could be sometimes when it was just the two of them; how the other blonde in her life appeared to have no filter at all. But now, standing in the kitchen with her two best friends within earshot, the Latina couldn't help but think of the endless amount of teasing she would endure as soon as Brittany left them all to their own devices.

Deciding to suck it up, Santana walks over towards Brittany, standing awkwardly in front of her and having no idea on what to do with her hands.

"Hey Britt-Britt…" Santana sheepishly says as she briefly makes eye contact with the blonde.

"Hey you…" Brittany coos back, also feeling a bit shy.

As the two roommates steal glances from one another, the cuteness overload was becoming a bit too much for the other housemates in the room.

"Kiss her!" Mercedes blurts out before slapping her hand over her mouth. "Oops."

Quinn looks at Mercedes pointedly and then back at Brittany and Santana.

"You'll have to excuse her. She may have Tourett's… we're looking into it," Quinn says with the utmost seriousness plastered on her face. "Anyways, how are you?" She asks, directing the question towards the other blonde.

"I'm good, thanks," Brittany happily chirps, smiling back at the future lawyer and the diva standing beside her. "How are you guys?"

"We're fantastic!" Quinn answers for the both of them, not trusting Cedes to be able to contain her excitement.

"Hey guys… didn't you have something to do in the other room?" Santana rhetorically asks, hoping that her best friends would take the hint.

"No, I don't think so," Quinn immediately responds, knowing damn well that the Latina was subtly trying to get her and Mercedes to give them some privacy for a few minutes. After all of the years of teasing each other, the blonde just couldn't help herself to mess with Santana for a little while longer.

"Are you sure?" Santana says a little louder and flat as her eyes widen and her nostrils flared up.

"Oh… you mean _that_ thing," Q finally says, acknowledging the Latina's true request. Honestly, Quinn would've loved to stay longer and continue tormenting her dearest friend, but she was edging to the point of bursting with laughter at how serious Santana's expression was getting. And so, she thought better of it and decided escaping to her room would be best for all parties involved. "Yeah, Cedes… why don't you come help me."

Mercedes just smiles back at Brittany before being dragged down the hallway to Quinn's bedroom.

"Sweet Baby Jesus… I thought they would never leave," Santana says with an exasperated breath as she looks back at the blonde.

"Me neither…" Brittany says as she softly connects their lips in a chaste kiss. Santana lightly hums out, loving the feeling of Brittany's lips pressed up against hers. "You don't know how happy I am to be able to do that now," she confesses.

"I think I _may_ have an idea…" Santana coyly replies before initiating another kiss between the two of them, causing Brittany to lightly wrap her arms around the Latina's neck. Not wanting to get too caught up in the moment, especially with Quinn and Mercedes still lurking around, the two women reluctantly pull apart. "How'd you sleep?"

"Pretty well, until I woke up and realized that my cuddle buddy was missing."

"Yeah, sorry about that… my bladder was full and yelling at me," Santana says apologetically. "I made you breakfast though," she adds in with an innocent smile.

"Hmm… I guess I'll excuse your abandonment this one time," Brittany says playfully before giving the Latina a quick peck and then making her way to sit down at the island. "So, what'd you make me?"

"Just your classic eggs, bacon, and toast," Santana replies as she turns on the microwave to heat up the food she had set aside earlier. Meanwhile, she pours a glass of apple juice for herself and for Brittany.

"Thank you."

Santana smiles back in return before the chime from the microwave goes off, signaling that their food was ready. Once she removes the plates and sets one down in front of Brittany and the empty spot next to her where she would be sitting, she grabs some silverware and napkins for both of them before finally taking her seat.

"This is really good, San… thank you," Brittany says after taking the first few bites of her meal.

"No prob."

"So… I take it that Cedes and Q know about us?" Brittany lightly broaches the subject.

"Yeah… I hope that's okay; I can't really hide much from them," Santana carefully responds, hoping that the blonde isn't upset with her.

"No, it's totally fine," Brittany assures. "From my understanding, it sounds like the two of them have been rooting for us for a while now," she chuckles out.

"Just exactly how long were you _eavesdropping_ on us for?" Santana playfully chides.

Brittany only continues to laugh. "Long enough to hear them nagging and mocking you about what happened between us last night. And then there was something about _Austin Powers_ …"

Santana just smiles in return, knowing that the blonde didn't take offense to her roommates talking about her while she was located elsewhere. As they continued to eat their breakfast in relative silence, stealing glances at each other throughout, Santana finally gathered up enough courage to put her plan for tonight into motion.

"So Britt… you're not working today, right?" Santana inquires as casually as possible.

Seeing how nervous the Latina was becoming, Brittany gives Santana her undivided attention, connecting their pinkies together to calm her down. This seems to do the trick.

"Nope… I'm all yours today," Brittany says back giddily. As soon as the words leave her mouth, Brittany realizes that she may have sounded overly eager – _which she was_ – but, the last thing she wanted was for her excitement to put any additional pressure on whatever feelings and emotions Santana was already experiencing. "I meant, no… I'm not working today," she answers more calmly, "and I don't have any plans either."

Hearing the different inflections in the blonde's tone, Santana felt a little relieved that she wasn't the only one that was feeling a little anxious and unsure, but also really elated.

"Well, since we both don't have any plans today…" Santana starts out, trying her best to hone in her nerves, "I thought that maybe we could go see the Galaxy play and then go to dinner afterwards?"

Brittany looks over at the Latina curiously. "Santana Lopez… are you asking me out on a date?"

Not expecting that response, any confidence that the brunette had built up quickly deflated. "Yeah… I mean, unless you don't want to," Santana starts to babble out. "I just thought that after last night, and just a few minutes ago, you would want to…"

Although seeing a _very_ flustered Santana was just about the most adorable sight in the world, Brittany couldn't take it anymore. So, while the Latina continued to ramble on, psyching herself out, Brittany closes the small gap between them, delicately connecting their lips once more.

"I would love to go on a date with you," Brittany softly says as their lips detach.

"Awesome."

"Since you were so sweet to make breakfast, why don't you go upstairs and start getting ready?" Brittany suggests, knowing that the soccer game would probably be starting in a few hours. She also figured that it would probably take the Latina much longer to get showered and dressed, judging by her observations over the last 2 weeks. "I'll clean up."

"I guess… if you insist," Santana replies back with a grin. With one last peck, Santana makes her way upstairs to start getting ready for her big date.

Once the brunette is out of sight, Brittany gets up from the island, collecting the dirty plates from the counter. She then walks over to the sink and turns on the water, waiting for it to warm up. All the while, she can't help the huge smile permanently plastered on her face.

"You guys can quit pretending like you _weren't_ just spying on us," Brittany yells out, her face angled towards the hallway where her other roommates' bedrooms were located.

Hearing muffled laughter echoing off the walls, Brittany's not surprised to see Quinn and Mercedes appear in the kitchen shortly thereafter.

"How'd you know?" Mercedes asks.

"You guys are about as subtle as a heart attack," Brittany chuckles out. "Plus, I saw your heads poking out from Quinn's room when I got up."

"Dammit! I knew we should've waited another minute or so," Quinn says aloud, but more so to herself.

"So… what do you wanna know?" Brittany casually asks as she checks the temperature of the water. Finding it sufficient enough, she picks up the sponge, adds liquid soap to it, and begins washing the dishes. "You have 5 minutes to ask me anything you want; then, I gotta start getting ready for my hot date," she says cheekily.

"Who kissed who?"

"How long did it last?"

"Was there tongue?"

"Did you sleep together?"

As Brittany hears the rapid fire questions being asked, she can't help but laugh a little. She figured her roommates were very curious about what exactly was going on between her and Santana, but she didn't think they would just jump right in to _those_ types of questions so soon.

"Wow… you guys are really serious," Brittany says jokingly.

"We're sorry to be so blunt – and _personal_ – but this is huge news!" Mercedes explains.

"We've known S since we were in diapers and we've _never_ seen her anywhere close to dating someone, so yeah… this _is_ a big deal," Quinn takes over. "We really don't mean to pry. Anything that happens between you and Santana is none of our business."

"Yeah… you don't have to answer any of those questions; we just got a little overzealous," Cedes finishes. "Sorry."

Brittany turns off the water and grabs a towel to dry her hands before turning around and facing her roommates with a more serious expression. "I don't know what makes me different, but I'm glad that San is trying," she tells them. "I haven't dated anyone in over 2 years. My ex cheated on me; it messed me up pretty badly."

Hearing the genuineness and vulnerability in her voice, Mercedes and Quinn look intently at the blonde, hoping that she'll continue. They had learned a lot of things about Brittany over the past 2 weeks since she had been living at the house, but nothing she had shared before – at least not with them – had been deeply personal.

"I haven't been remotely interested in dating since all of that happened, but then… I met Santana," Brittany says candidly. "I don't know what's gonna happen between us. What I _do_ know is that I really, really like her. And right now… that's enough."

"You're special… _that's_ what makes you different," Quinn earnestly replies. "We really hope that things work out between you two… and we'll _try_ to back it down a notch with the teasing and stuff."

"Thanks guys," Brittany says back, giving both of them a hug.

"You're part of the family now," Mercedes states. "We're really happy to have you here."

"Me too," Brittany replies as she smiles back at them before making her way out of the kitchen. "And just for the record: she kissed me first, it lasted for a few minutes, and there was _definitely_ tongue involved," she says with a wink.

As Brittany disappears from the room, Mercedes and Quinn take a moment to digest the new information they had just received over the past few minutes. Although they both felt a lot closer to their new roommate, they still couldn't help but make light of the situation.

"20 bucks says they'll be in love before Christmas," Mercedes poses.

"Are we talking about them actually professing their love for each other or just getting one of them to admit it to themselves?" Quinn questions.

"Hmm… now we're getting really technical," Mercedes says back. "Let's see how their first date goes."

"Okay, deal."

* * *

Once Santana and Brittany were all cleaned up and ready for a fun-filled day, the girls decided to hit the road early. Although the soccer game didn't start until 3:00 PM and they only lived about 15 miles from the StubHub Center, getting stuck in Los Angeles traffic was not something they wanted to worry about.

During the game, Brittany found it absolutely adorable how clueless Santana was about the game of soccer. She could tell that the brunette must've Googled information about the sport because she knew the names of most of the positions; however, whenever she named one of those positions and pointed to one of the players on the team, 99% of time, she was wrong. The only position she was able to correctly identify was the goalie... and that's _probably_ because Brittany was a goalie!

And then, there was one point when Santana asked, 'where's that David Beckham guy? I thought he played for the Galaxy?' It was then that Brittany was given the task of finding a way to gently let Santana down, seeing that the gorgeous Mr. Beckham last played for the team in 2012.

After that slightly embarrassing moment, Santana just decided to stay mum on the topic and let the blonde soccer star teach her what she needed to know. Although Santana still felt a little foolish, a sweet kiss from Brittany and a waffle cone filled with cookie dough ice cream seemed to do the trick.

Once the game was over, the Galaxy claimed victory in a 3-1 defeat.

During their drive to the restaurant, the girls shared mindless chitchat. It was great to know that there was no awkwardness between the two of them as they navigated this uncharted territory, transitioning from friends and roommates to two women that were now romantically involved.

Once they arrived at their destination, Brittany was ecstatic to see the superhero-themed restaurant entitled _DC vs. Marvel_. Before they entered the establishment, Santana had summarized some of the reviews about this place that she had read online. The restaurant had opened a few months prior and was described as an adult arcade: half of it decorated with memorabilia from Metropolis and Gotham; the other half decorated with Captain America's shield, Thor's hammer, and purple and green paint splashed along the walls, amongst other props.

Brittany was amazed by the attention to detail once they finally got inside; she couldn't believe that she hadn't visited this place before today. Even the food had elements of comic books in it, made apparent by the Superman cape that was attached to Brittany's order of Super Splendid Chili Cheese fries and the Batman logo seared into the bread of her grilled cheese sandwich.

After a tasty meal, Brittany and Santana ventured out into the arcade area and played just about every single game in the building. Once they were all tuckered out, the girls made the journey back to their house, arriving just shy of 11:00 PM.

Santana couldn't remember a time when she had had this much fun with someone, especially when that someone was a beautiful blonde that made her feel things that she never had before. For Brittany, she was over the moon that their date had went off without a hitch and that Santana – for being a newbie – was the perfect gentlewoman, holding the door open for her and insisting on paying for everything. She felt like a princess and was so grateful that Santana had put so much effort into ensuring that she had a wonderful time.

"I still wish you would've let me pay for something," Brittany pouts as Santana walks her to her bedroom door.

"What fun would that have been?" Santana replies back nonchalantly. "Besides, I'm the one that asked _you_ out on a date. What kind of person would I be if I made you pay for something?"

Brittany scoffs to herself, expecting nothing less from the Latina. "So, does that mean if I ask _you_ out for our next date, _I_ get to pay for everything?"

"That depends..." Santana says back lowly, stepping further into the blonde's personal space. "Are you asking me out?"

"I am," Brittany responds back instantly, tilting her head forward to remove the remaining space between them. Santana's breath gets caught in her throat, but she doesn't let that interrupt her from reciprocating the blonde's actions.

As Santana and Brittany get lost in the tenderness of the moment, they mentally agree to keep their kisses somewhat PG-13; after all, this _was_ their first date.

"I'd love to," Santana whispers out, echoing a response reminiscent of the blonde's from earlier that day when she had initially asked Brittany out.

"Good," is the simple reply from Brittany. "You wanna know what my favorite part of our date was... besides _this_ , obviously."

Santana giggles out, knowing that the kissing aspect of their date was definitely one of her favorite parts of their date. "What?"

"When you held my hand at the stadium…" Brittany says openly. "Even though you mainly did it so that we wouldn't get separated amongst the crowds of people, it still felt really nice to know that I was there... with you."

"Why didn't you say anything before?"

"Because... I was nervous and could tell that you were too," Brittany answers. "Plus, I didn't want to put any pressure on you if that's not something that you were ready to do yet."

For a moment, Santana looks deep into Brittany's crystal blue eyes. Then, she slowly works her hands down from the blonde's shoulders until they reach Brittany's hands, following the movement with her eyes. Once their hands are connected and their fingers are tangled together, the Latina looks back into Brittany's eyes.

"I'll keep that in mind for next time."

Brittany smiles in return. "Thank you for an amazing date. It's definitely the best I've ever been on."

"Me too."

Brittany wants to bust Santana's chops by reminding her that this had been the _only_ date she had ever been on, but she decided to just enjoy the moment instead. With one last sensual kiss, Brittany warmly embraces Santana before disconnecting from her.

"Goodnight San."

"G'nite Britt-Britt."

As Brittany disappears behind the door of her bedroom, Santana rests her head against it and deeply exhales. Before she has a chance to lift her head up, she's slightly startled when the door suddenly opens again.

Brittany takes a second and assesses the situation; again, deciding not to comment on it.

"I'm not really tired yet so I was wondering if you wanted to watch a movie or something?"

"Uh, yeah... that sounds good. Let me go get changed first," Santana replies.

As both women go into their respective rooms to change into their pajamas, a few minutes later, Santana finds herself cuddled up next to the blonde in Brittany's room. They end up watching two full movies, laughing along and just really enjoying each other's company. By the time they had started the third movie, within minutes, Brittany was passed out.

 _Maybe this dating thing isn't so bad_ , Santana thinks to herself as she snuggles further into Brittany; sleep finally taking over her body moments later.

* * *

 **Author's Note:**

When I finally sat down to finish this chapter, I couldn't believe that it had been over a year since I last updated it. For that, I am truly sorry for those of you that still care; for those of you that are still reading and are still interested in the Brittana fandom. Honestly, I think the main reason – _besides writers block_ – that I started and stopped this chapter update so many times was because I felt a little discouraged.

After the big kiss between Brittany and Santana at the end of the last chapter, I thought that the readers would be happy because that's what we've all been waiting for, right? But then, after getting a lackluster response from the chapter, it made me less motivated. One week became one month and then another, and before I knew it, so much time had passed... _too_ much time had passed. Between all of the big changes that have been going on in my life over the past year and trying to write updates for my other stories, I have not been able to manage my time more wisely, writing wise.

Again, I am truly sorry for the delay.

I hope that this makes up for it. I plan on finishing the next chapter for **Quantico** in the next week or two so be on the lookout for that. If you guys do get the chance to read this update, I would love to hear your thoughts. You guys are what inspires me and other writers to keep pushing. I know since _Glee_ went off the air, some of the readers for the Brittana fandom have dropped off and moved on to other more current couples to ship. That's understandable and I don't blame you. I just hope that this helps some of you to stick around a little while longer.

As always, keep it classy!

-K

 **PS** \- I went through and did some minor editing to all of the previous chapters. Also, a big shout out to **kp83** for being one of my biggest cheerleaders and partner in crime. If you guys haven't read her stuff yet, you should ;)

 **Songs Used:**

 _ **Come and Get Your Love**_ by **Redbone**

 **Disclaimer:** I do not own _Glee_ or any of the other shows that were mentioned in this chapter.


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